


Call the Alpha Midwife

by KaliopeShipsIt



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Claudia Stilinski, Alive Hale Family, Alpha Derek, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Werewolves Are Known, Bisexual Stiles Stilinski, Bottom Derek Hale, Bottom Stiles Stilinski, Deputy Stiles Stilinski, Discussion of Infertility, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Good Peter Hale, Kid Fic, Light Angst, M/M, Minor Laura Hale/Jordan Parrish, Minor Scott McCall/Kira Yukimura, Minor Vernon Boyd/Erica Reyes, Mpreg, Omega Stiles Stilinski, Peter has a dozen kids, Pining Derek, Pining Stiles Stilinski, Political Commentary, Pregnant Stiles, Social Issues, Stealth Flirting, Stiles is Scott and Kira's Surrogate, Surrogacy, Top Derek, Top Stiles Stilinski, Versatile Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-18
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-01-19 01:24:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 81,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12400212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaliopeShipsIt/pseuds/KaliopeShipsIt
Summary: Derek Hale is a professional supernatural midwife who's never once regretted being an Alpha in a heavily Omega-dominated profession.When Stiles, a snarky Omega acting as surrogate for his friends Scott and Kira, stumbles into Derek's practice and his life, Derek ends up regretting everything.Author's Note: This work is currently on HIATUS, until such a time when the author finally finishes a massive real life work project.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer 1: I do not own Teen Wolf or any of the characters.
> 
> Disclaimer 2: This work is intended for AO3 only and must not be added to external sites such as Goodreads. 
> 
>  
> 
> Hello my lovelies! 
> 
> There it is, my first Stiles!Mpreg! 
> 
> I love reading Stiles!Mpreg and I've been toying with the idea of writing a Stiles!Mpreg for quite a while. Until now, I never really found a plot bunny that I could connect with as a writer (if you've read more of my stuff, you'll know that I usually write Derek!Mpreg), but I ended up having a lot of fun working on this! I hope you guys enjoy it, too, despite or even especially because I'm basically throwing in snarky political commentary throughout the entire thing.
> 
> Updates will be sporadic because my boss reigns over my real life schedule, but they will come :).
> 
> Also, just for clarification (and because there seem to be different philosophies on this), in my version of the ABO-verse Omegas are the ones who get pregnant and Alphas are the one who sire the children, regardless of whether they are male or female. I like the way ABO challenges heteronormativity, so I've decided to play around with that a little and transplant the sex-difference from the chromosomal gender (as I call male/female) onto the ABO sex (Alpha/Omega), so as far as I'm concerned the switch only makes sense if it goes both ways. In terms of ABO biology that means that male and female Omegas go into heat/produce slick and both male and female Alphas have a knot (though, of course, they look and function a bit differently, since their outward sex organs look like those of non-ABO humans in their not-errect state). I'm not going into graphic detail of the female knotting process, however, so you may imagine that to happen in whatever way you feel comfortable with :).

At the age of five, Derek Hale accidentally helped deliver his cousin Malia.

The day had begun like any other in the life of a 5 year old little Alpha werewolf, with a bowl of lucky charms, a glass of orange juice, and a heated argument unfolding across the breakfast table, which Derek had so far ignored in favor of focusing on fishing out all the marshmallow bits.

“What do you mean I can’t … Peter Dorian Hale, I swear, the next time you try telling me what to do I’ll …”

“The woods are dangerous, Zan! You could run into a wild animal, slip on the leaves and fall, or …”

“She _can_ make her own choices, you know, she’s not the infant, she’s just carrying it.”

Derek’s human Omega father Sebastian crooked one meaningful eyebrow at his brother-in-law, adjusting Derek’s newborn baby-sister Cora in the crook of his arm and grabbing a mug of coffee with his free hand.

He grinned in sympathy when Derek’s human Omega aunt Zandrine let out a loud and heartfelt huff.

“I know she can, I’m not arguing against that, I like my balls where they are, thank you very much! But she can’t howl if something goes wrong, so how are we supposed to …”

“You’ll hear me _howl_ if I have to stay in this house another second! I’ve been stuck here for two months and now that I am _finally_ off bed rest – which was completely unnecessary by the way, I have no idea how you talked the doctor into it – and I intend to make the most out of the two weeks I have left until your offspring decides to make his grand entrance!”

“For the last time, the fact that he kept looking at me in fear while he prescribed it was purely accidental, and I only had my claws out because I was polishing them! We’ve been over this! If you’d just wait until I’m back from my meeting, we could have a nice, non-strenuous stroll across the pond in Beacon Hills Park and …”

“I’ll non-strenuously whip your delectable _ass_ if you don’t stop alpha-henning me right this instant!”

“Awww, don’t be like that Zan, you know I love it when you whip my a…”

“ _Language_! Baby-ears present!” Talia interrupted, looking a bit disapproving and a lot amused as she walked into the kitchen, a sleep-dopey Laura trailing in her wake and looking deeply disgruntled over having been roused from her blanket nest.

“I’m not a baby!” Derek protested, the words muffled around his lucky charms, but his mother just smiled at him indulgently.

She ruffled his hair and bent over to drop a kiss on the actual baby’s forehead before she took her place next to her husband.

“Why don’t you take Derek with you? That way, you won’t be alone, Peter can attend his meeting in peace, and I’m sure Derek would like to go outside and play on such a nice day. Isn’t that right, little Bear?”

“Uhum!” Derek replied around another huge mouthful of more lucky charms.

He beamed at his aunt excitedly and chose to ignore his mortification when some of his carefully selected marshmallows fell out of his mouth in the process by pretending it hadn’t happened.

He was a dignified 5-year-old little Bear, thank you very much.

“See? If anything happens to me – which it _won’t_ – Derek can howl his little heart out and I’m sure someone will come rescue the pregnant Omega immediately. It’s not like I don’t know there’s not a single member in this family not ready to completely lose their shit at the sight of a pregnant Omega in imaginary distress! I was there for Bathroom-Gate earlier this years, so I …”

“You promised you wouldn’t bring it up anymore! Getting stuck on the toilet because I was so constipated it took over an hour to go number two and then getting a back cramp was _not_ the highlight of my year! I’d like to forget about it eventually, thank you very much!” Derek’s father grumbled, letting out a huff when his wife kissed his cheek with a barely concealed grin.

Across the table Derek’s Omega grandmother Abigail let out a snort, pale hazel eyes sparkling when she nudged her wife affectionately.

“Talia and Peter _did_ get their alpha-henning streaks from you, Beloved,” Abigail mused and Derek’s Alpha grandmother Greta shrugged, looking like she couldn’t see the fault in any of this.

This time, both Peter and Talia huffed, but Greta ignored her children in favor of reaching over to pet Derek’s head fondly.

“You’re going to protect your auntie Zan, won’t you, my little Bear?” the older Alpha asked and Derek nodded excitedly.

This time, he remembered to swallow his marshmallows before he replied, “Always, Nana! Want to come, too, Laura?”

Derek’s 7-year old Alpha sister, who had climbed onto her father’s lap with the obvious intention of going right back to sleep, shook her head, her reply so muffled that not even Derek’s werewolf ears could make it out.

He shrugged, once more grinning at his aunt when Zandrine hefted herself out of her chair with a grunt, waved Peter’s huffing away with an impatient little flick of her wrist, and then motioned for Derek to follow her.

Once they’d made it off the Hale property and onto the more uneven terrain of the woods Zandrine’s determined stride slowed down to a more leisurely, cautious walk, and Derek adapted to her speed automatically.

“You can run, if you want,” Zandrine said but Derek shook his head.

He knew that humans sometimes didn’t understand werewolf things so well, but Nana Greta, Nana Abby, and mommy always said that you shouldn’t point it out to them because it was rude, so he refrained from telling his aunt that one simply did not run away from an Omega who smelled so much like _cub_.

Derek couldn’t be one hundred percent sure, of course, because grown-ups usually didn’t make sense, but he figured that Zandrine’s lack of understanding on this subject had also been the reason for Peter’s three nights on the living room couch this week.

“You’re a little Alpha, alright. Your uncle Peter would be proud,” Zandrine sighed, but it didn’t sound like she was genuinely angry about it.

They had just entered the Nemeton’s clearing when Derek’s aunt suddenly paused in her story of how she was going to tie Uncle Peter to a chair and see how _he_ liked to be stuck in the house all day.

Derek had long since learned to stop paying attention whenever Auntie Zan or Uncle Peter talked about each other, because it never really made sense and grown-ups were strange, but he did pay attention when his aunt let out a pained gasp, her hands flying to her abdomen.

“Auntie Zan?” he asked, looking at her wide-eyed, but Zandrine shook her head, smiling through a grimace.

“I’m fine Derek. It was just a muscle spasm, it’s … _oh god, fuck_!”

Derek barely had time to marvel at his aunt yelling the forbidden word before she dropped to her knees with an agonized yelp.

“Auntie Zan!” he cried, dropping to his knees beside her.

Scared, he reached out and touched her belly, figuring that she was hurting there because she was grabbing it.

He suddenly remembered his mom rubbing his belly and doing the weird thing with her arms to make it better after last year’s Thanksgiving, when he and Laura had been experiencing the consequences of sneaking downstairs at night to eat the leftover pie.

He’d never tried the weird arm-thing himself, but his wolf was howling inside his head to do _something_ and so he concentrated with all his might, face scrunched up as he tried to locate the pain that was making his auntie cry.

A second later Zandrine yanked Derek’s hand away and exclaimed, “No! Derek, little Bear, don’t do that, I don’t want you to feel … aaaaaaaargh, fuck! Please, Derek, you need to get help, you … oh fuck, shit, damn it, oh my god, this is going _way_ too fast, this … fucking Peter and his genes, he’ll pay for this, I’ll have his balls on a … aaaaaargh, fuck!”

Derek was only five years old, a fact he was quite aware of because Laura liked to remind him of it daily, but that was definitely old enough for him to understand that if a human was in so much pain they yelled _that_ many curse words in such a short time then you didn’t leave them alone.

No, Derek was going to put on his big boy pants and help his aunt himself, even though he had no idea how.

“Fuck!” Zandrine yelled again and Derek watched incredulously as water trickled down between her legs, almost as if she’d peed herself.

“Oh,” he said, remembering how he and Laura had been snuggled up with their father on the couch a couple of months ago when he’d suddenly let out a sharp hiss, followed by a wet stain on the couch and the entire house going – in both Derek and Laura’s opinion – completely crazy.

Cora had been born five hours later and Derek suddenly knew what he had to do.

“The cub’s coming Auntie Zan. Don’t worry, I’ll help,” he declared.

Granted, he had no clue _where_ exactly the cub was supposed to come from, but he could figure out that detail later.

“No shit Sherlock! Oh god, Talia’s going to _murder_ me!” Zandrine groaned, her face pale and sweat glistening on her forehead.

Derek cocked his head in confusion, once again not sure what his aunt was talking about but figuring that, as confusing as the entire day had been up until that point, he probably wasn’t going to get an answer anytime soon.

Zandrine screamed again and Derek inhaled sharply when he caught the scent of blood, his eyes flashing Alpha red in response.

“Auntie Zan! You’re bleeding!” he meeped, his lips wobbling despite his big boy pants, and Zandrine took a couple of gasping breaths, her eyes flashing Omega gold right back at him.

“Little Bear, come here,” she said, still panting but managing to smile as she pulled him in and kissed his forehead.

“I’m alright, I promise. This is how little babies are born. You don’t have to worry about me, ok? I’m going to scream a lot and it’ll probably be about chopping off your uncle Peter’s balls, but it’s going to be ok. I need you to hold up your arms, ok, and when the baby comes I need you to catch it. I know you can do it, I know you can … _god, damn it_!”

Derek’s eyes widened when Zandrine went into a crouch and bore down with a scream, her face scrunched up in agony as she made a sound Derek hadn’t even known a human could produce.

He looked down, hands moving mainly on instinct … and blinking in surprise when they were suddenly full of pink, slimy, screaming infant.

The cub was howling its little lungs out and Derek tightened his grip automatically as he stared at the cub in wonder, taking in a squished little face, tiny little fingers and toes, and the rosy color of newborn baby skin, visible even through the gunk that was still covering it all over.

The cub – a girl, Derek was pretty sure – looked like a little alien, really, but Derek wasn’t too concerned.

After all, Cora had looked like an angry tomato when he’d first laid eyes upon her and had since turned into a rather cute tomato, leaving him confident that his cousin would grow into her alien looks just fine.

Also, he’d seen _E.T._ and so he knew that there was definitely cute alien potential out there.

On a completely unrelated note, he was willing to fight anyone who claimed he’d taken 20 bathroom breaks during the movie because he’d been _scared._

Besides, alien or not, the little wolf in his arms was _pack_ , and as he placed her into Zandrine’s waiting arms, his aunt’s face glistening with tears of joy, Derek couldn’t quite remember a time in his – admittedly short – life where he’d ever felt so happy … plus another emotion that he didn’t know the name for and would only learn later that evening, after every single member of his family had cuddled him close, whispering, “We’re so proud of you, little Bear” over and over again and making the feeling in his chest grow even stronger.

At the age of five, Derek accidentally helped deliver his cousin Malia.

It was also the day he decided to become a midwife.

 

===============

_13 Years Later_

Wanting to be a midwife, Derek realized by the time he had graduated high school and had just been rejected from the sixth training program he’d tried getting into, was actually not all that easy if one was an Alpha.

It _definitely_ wasn’t easy if one happened to have been born a werewolf.

“We understand this is an inconvenience, but we just really need you to sniff this bucket of blood and monitor your heart rate to see if you’ll succumb to your canine bloodlust,” the admission officer at the local community college said with a friendly smile.

Her smile didn’t waver one bit when she shoved a decent-sized bucket of pig blood right under his nose, as if she was trying to recreate the prom scene from _Carrie_.

“This is discrimination and incredibly insulting!” Derek replied haughtily, turning on his heels and very firmly telling himself he was an adult now and that he was _not_ going to cry over being rejected from a program for the third time in as many weeks.

He kept his composure all the way to the Camaro, only to surrender miserably the moment Laura ruffled his hair with an apologetic smile.

“Maybe it’s for the best, Derek. It’s not like you can empathize, so what kind of Omega would trust an Alpha midwife during such a vulnerable time anyway?” Peter said later that night, ducking out of the way just in time when Aunt Zandrine threw a spoonful of mashed potatoes at him.

“The kind you’re married to! In fact, I’d be perfectly comfortable with having him practice when the new one comes along, it’s not like he hasn’t done it before and everything went _perfectly fine_!” she said icily.

Peter picked mashed potato out of his hair with a grimace and Zandrine threw a meaningful glance at Malia, then patted her stomach with a muttered “You’re father’s a _butthole_ , just so you know!”

“Language! Baby-ears!” Talia snapped, her stern expression giving way to resignation when both Malia and Cora broke out into laughter.

Across the table, Malia’s younger brothers expressed equal amusement at their parents’ familiar antics.

Eleven-year-old Apollo snickered, nine-year-old identical twins Romulus and Remus giggled hysterically, and six-year-old Thor was grinning like Christmas had come early.

Their three-year-old sister Luna, meanwhile, clapped her hands together excitedly and repeated, “Daddy’s a _butt_!” in utter delight.

“Daddy _is_ a butt, that’s true. However, that’s your luck, little lady, because if he weren’t such a butt your mommy wouldn’t love him so much! And if mommy didn’t love him so much, well, you wouldn’t be sitting here … spilling milk all over Nana’s expensive table cloth, _shit_ , daughter, are you _trying_ to get me killed?”

“If we could get back to the important matters at hand and at least try to watch our damn language around baby ears?” Talia interrupted, deftly plucking the milk-cup out of her little niece’s hand as she turned back towards Derek.

“I know you didn’t want to move too far away from the pack little Bear, but it looks like you’ll have to consider the more progressive big cities down south. Weren’t you talking about a program down in Los Angles?” she asked, eyebrow rising when Derek winced.

He had stumbled across the program during one of his more desperate Google binges earlier that month and had been equally fascinated and alienated by the garishly designed website, not sure whether the person responsible had been on drugs or just really, _really_ motivated.

Amongst blinking buttons, much too fast slide shows, and so much cluttered information that it had made Derek’s eyes hurt just trying to find the relevant parts, he had learned that the program had been established by an Omega Rights activist in the 1960s, offered a minor in supernatural midwifery, and – according to one particularly spirited reviewer and alumni named Greenberg – was taught by devastatingly sexy professors.

He had been ready to dismiss the program completely, not the least because even the thought of living in LA made his skin crawl, but he’d been drawn back to the supernatural midwifery minor in particular, very clearly geared towards supernatural students and highlighting the importance of the work in a serious manner that stood in stark contrast to the flashy and glittery buttons on the front page.

Then again, Los Angeles was more than a ten-hour drive away and the thought of living so far away from the pack was … unpleasant.

Truth be told, imagining himself ten hours away from his pack and his Alpha wasn’t just unpleasant but actually made Derek’s wolf curl up inside him and cry for his mommy, but he definitely wasn’t about to share _that_ with his family

“I don’t want to move to Los Angeles, Mom. It smells really, _really_ weird down there,” Derek muttered, purposefully ignoring his uncle when he coughed, “Boo-Boo-Bear!” into his hand and even more purposefully ignoring his youngest cousin when she started chirping, “Boo-Boo! Boo-Boo!” with a delighted expression.

His mother smiled indulgently, making Derek feel all of five years old when she reached over to ruffle his hair.

“I know it’s a 10 hour-drive, but I’m sure Laura is going to jump at the chance to go to LA and see you as often as possible. Also, your father and I will sit down and actually learn this Skype-thing, I promise. I know you’ve never been away from the pack, little Bear, but I promise you it’s not as scary as it seems as first. And if your heart is really set on becoming a midwife, then I think that’s a sacrifice you should be more than willing to make.”

Derek looked down at his food, suddenly no longer hungry.

He knew he had a shot at getting into the program, reasonably sure that – unlike the programs he’d already applied to – the combination of him being an Alpha _and_ a werewolf would for once not be an issue.

Nevertheless, despite his willingness to do whatever it would take to get his degree he couldn’t quite stifle the sadness at knowing that it would take long periods of separation from his pack to achieve his goal.

He really _was_ a Boo-Boo-Bear, still, his baby-cousin was right about that.

Talia sighed, once more ruffling his hair before she got up.

“Think about it,” his mother said, motioning for Cora, Peter, and his uncle’s older children to start clearing the table and Derek was left alone with only his aunt and Luna for company, the former grimacing at him in a way that could mean either sympathy or a baby dancing on her bladder and the latter looking up at him curiously from her high-chair.

“Boo-Boo sad?” Luna asked, sounding worried, and Derek forced a smile for the as-of-now youngest pack member, liberating her from her chair-prison and nuzzling her light-brown hair in reassurance.

“I know it’s going to be difficult to be away from the pack Derek … well, I don’t know-know, at least not from a werewolf perspective, but I can empathize. The last time your uncle had to go on a business trip he called me in tears five times and when he finally came back home he was so starved for my touch that we went and had a 10 hour sex marathon that resulted in our little lady Vesta, who’s currently trying to smash my kidneys to pieces. What I’m trying to say is that I can understand how you’re feeling and I promise you, you’ll be fine.”

“Keep talking about Peter and touch-starvation in the same sentence and I don’t think I will be. By the way, we were all ear-witnesses to the sex marathon, so you really don’t have to bring it up anymore. Ever. I’m actually pretty sure that Dad tried to lock Peter in the shed when Cora asked him about the strange sounds the next morning.”

Derek’s aunt shrugged, clearly unconcerned.

“How a pack of werewolves who consider running around naked during the full moon a family bonding activity can be so collectively prude about sex remains beyond my understanding,” she said, shaking her head when Derek let out a snort.

“Pretty sure it’s not about sex but because you and Uncle Peter get up to some seriously kinky shit,” he replied.

“Oh yeah? And what would _you_ know about kinky shit, Mr. “The closest I’ve ever gotten to some action is when I bought a box of chocolates for my teenage crush, chickened out of giving it to her, and then ate it all myself”?”

Derek glared at his uncle, who’d just come back into the dining room and was carrying a bowl of ice cream for Zandrine.

“First of all, that was almost four years ago, and I barely got to eat a fourth of it before your wife decided she had a pregnancy craving and stole the rest. Secondly, I actually did end up helping Paige through her heat last year, so you can stop treating me like a baby who doesn’t know anything. Thirdly, I’m pretty sure you two have scarred me for life and this conversation is not normal!”

“Normal is an oppressive social construct, made up by Alphas terrified of sexually liberated Omegas,” Peter dismissed him easily, his eyes sparkling with mirth when Derek let out a snort.

“Oh really? Weren’t you the one being sexist earlier when you told me I would never make it as an Alpha in an Omega-dominated profession?”

Peter rolled his eyes.

“I’m not saying you can’t do it, Derek. You obviously can, Malia’s existence is proof of that. What I am saying, however, is that you’ll have a very hard time getting clients and that you’ll be subjected to a lot of antiquated bullshit and possibly even defamation. Just because you grew up in a liberal family doesn’t mean the whole world is waiting to embrace you entering a profession that is so heavily Omega-dominated. I mean, if society at large wasn’t still sexist as fuck there’s no way we’d have a president now who thinks his money gives him non-consensual genital-grabbing privileges. All I’m saying is that I’m just not sure you’re realizing what you’re in for and that seems a heck of a risk given the inevitable decades of paying off student loans.”

Derek winced.

“I know that Uncle Peter. I just … I want …”

“You’ll be fine,” Zandrine interrupted, stroking her stomach thoughtfully.

“I’d trust you to deliver Vesta in a heartbeat and I just know that others will soon see beyond the fact that you’re an Alpha. You’ll be fine, I promise.”

Derek blushed, his indignation over Peter’s antics forgotten when both his aunt and uncle looked at him with genuine affection, all teasing gone from their faces.

“Don’t you think you should stop giving your kids the names of gods? Malia’s about to get a complex for being the odd one out,” he replied, trying to lighten the somber mood.

He grinned when Peter huffed dramatically in response.

Zandrine shrugged, once again looking very unapologetic when she said, “For your information, Malia means ‘calm waters’ and she was named so because I felt that first contraction as we passed the gentle river dividing the forest and the Nemeton’s clearing.”

“Clearly an appropriate name choice, given her personality,” Derek mused, grin widening when there was an indignant teenage squawk from the kitchen.

“Obviously,” Zandrine agreed with a smirk, her gaze turning serious once more when she looked down at her belly.

“Think of it this way, Derek. You know how hard it was for me to find a midwife who was willing to deliver a birth that was likely going to result in a werewolf baby. Most human midwives stay clear of the supernatural world, so your services are actually desperately needed. Also, your sense of smell and hearing gives you quite an edge over the competition, especially in case of an emergency. Again, I am certain you’ll be ok. People have wrapped their heads around stranger concepts than an Alpha midwife, I’m sure.”

“I agree,” Talia as she walked back into the dining room, sitting down next to Derek and putting one hand on his shoulder.

“Besides, you’ll survive living in Los Angeles just fine, despite all its eccentricities. After all, I’m pretty this family has been preparing you for eccentricity all your life, little Bear.”

Derek shared a smile with his mother when his aunt and uncle let out double sounds of protest; feeling like a huge weight was beginning to lift off his shoulders.

His stomach still felt weird at the idea of living 10 hours away from the pack, but at the same time he also felt hopeful for the first time ever since he’d gotten the first rejection letter.

His family was right – he’d be fine.

 

===============

 

Being a werewolf, it turned out, was actually an advantage when it came to applying to programs that were in danger of closing down their supernatural midwifery minors for lack of supernatural students.

Derek could barely contain his excitement when he stepped into his first class on his first day, his disgust over the dorm-room he had to share with a guy who always smelled like he’d rubbed a mixture of jizz and banana all over himself – there was a story there, probably, and Derek was emphatically _not_ interested – completely forgotten as he took in the other excited faces around him.

He was not at all surprised to find himself the only Alpha in the class, but if the teacher, a sour-faced looking Omega named Adrian Harris, found his presence unusual he didn’t show it.

Instead, Harris’ eyes gleamed with barely contained sadistic glee as he turned on the beamer before the last student had even settled down, declaring they were going to watch an educational movie “To give you guys an idea of what you’re in for.”

Two hours and five close-ups of an episiotomy later, Derek was perhaps a bit greener around the nose but still buzzing with excitement, feeling surer than ever that he’d made the right choice.

Then he met his supernatural midwifery instructor Bobby Finstock.

In addition to being the only Alpha in the program, Derek was also the only supernatural and thus eligible student in the supernatural midwifery minor, meaning that he was the sole focus of the reign of horror and misery Bobby Finstock seemed to take perverse pleasure in unleashing upon his students.

Finstock, who claimed to be part troll on his father’s side twice-removed, was a middle-aged Omega with spikey hair, had an unholy love for his whistle, seemed to be a never-ending well of clichéd movie quotes, and his teaching approach primarily consisted of calling Derek at ungodly hours at least twice a week so that he could get in “a golden learning opportunity”.

Derek had rather mixed feelings about these golden learning opportunities.

On a somewhat related note, Derek was also firmly convinced that Finstock had made the whole troll-ancestry-thing up to get away with behaving like one.

On the one hand, the more he learned about supernatural midwifery the more he realized how truly desperately needed his service was, giving his work a purpose that – occasionally – even made up for being woken at 2:45 AM to go drive into the middle of the forest to assist a nymph with a water birth in a pond cold enough to freeze off even Derek’s resilient werewolf balls.

On the other hand, one tended to almost lose one’s hand during these deliveries.

Literally.

“She’s just beautiful, congratulations you two!” Finstock beamed at the proud Cynocephalus couple during Derek’s first “golden learning opportunity” and Derek grunted his agreement, cradling his bloody hand and waiting for the skin to knit back together that the cub had ravished with such fervor it had taken both parents to pry her sharp little wolf teeth open and away from Derek’s mangled wrist.

A couple of months later, the Centaur who decided to kick backwards on one particularly brutal contraction, got Derek square in the balls and then gushed a whole bunch of amniotic fluid right over him while he was busy writhing on the ground and howling in pain, was definitely another highlight in any young werewolf’s educational career.

As final exam for his second semester Finstock drove Derek out into the middle of the Pacific ocean on a boat only to dump him in the water to assist a mermaid, cheerfully calling out, “Bonus points if you figure out where the hell those kids are supposed to come out of in under an hour! Fair warning though, the best student I’ve ever had took almost four hours to find it, so I’m not holding my breath here, Hale. You, on the other hand, probably should, after all … hey, look is that a shark?”

It was indeed a great white shark and Derek felt just a tiny bit ridiculous when he wolfed out under water to glare the shark into submission by the power of his alpha red eyes, but the animal seemed to be sufficiently cowed, slinking away from the birthing area to circle an increasingly hysterical Finstock’s tiny fishing boat with great interest instead.

Despite his well-mannered upbringing Derek allowed himself to gloat when he coaxed two identical twin mermen into their mother’s arms 55 minutes later, gloating even more when his mother hung the A+++ exam results on the fridge and kept them there until the end of his degree.

During his second-to-last semester in the program Derek had to deal with, in no particular order: a siren who’d eaten the Alpha sire of her offspring, supposedly on ‘accident’, and who was incredibly offended when Derek refused to take out his earplugs to marvel at the newborn’s healthy lungs; a phoenix who burst into flames right in the middle of labor, emerged from the ashes cradling her newborn baby girl, and rendered a completely freaked out Derek’s presence completely moot, while Finstock still charged the full fee for a successful birth; a leprechaun who somehow managed to steal Derek’s wallet in between contractions and then tried to pay his fee in lucky charms; and a Banshee whose pained screams left Derek’s sensitive hearing ringing for two weeks after.

Finstock had saved the biggest challenge for Derek’s final exam at the end of his four-year program, however, and not even twenty showers got rid of the smell that clung to Derek’s skin and hair after he finally emerged from the ogre-hut after 30 excruciating hours of sounds, sights, and smells that would probably haunt Derek in his nightmares until the day he died.

He still smelled like an ogre had rubbed all over him when he got home from college one last time, his shiny new degree as a certified midwife with a specialization in supernatural midwifery in hand.

He was feeling quite dignified and important right until his family spilled out onto to porch to greet him, Aunt Zandrine took one sniff in his direction … and then proceeded to violently throw up into Nana Abigail’s herb garden.

“Seriously? _Again_?” Derek asked incredulously after he’d taken a confirmatory sniff, accepting his mother’s hug and smiling at her apologetically when she couldn’t quite suppress the shudder at how horrendous he smelled.

Peter puffed his chest out proudly, a display of virile Alphahood that was not even the slightest bit compromised by the fact that his 18 months old son Ares was currently getting back at his parents for being named after the Greek god of war, bloodshed, and violence by gnawing on Peter’s leg and the fact that his three-year old daughter Vesta was riding on his shoulders and having the time of her life emptying a tub of glitter all over her father’s head.

“We’re so proud of you little Bear,” Nana Greta said, her smile wide as she shoved Peter’s delightfully prepubescent human twin boys Romulus and Remus in his direction, the two of whom were grumpily carrying a crooked congratulatory cake.

“We are indeed very proud of you little Bear. But you’re not coming in the house until we’ve soaked you in tomato juice, so blow out those candles real quick and then Laura and Cora can help you fill the old trough behind the shed,” Talia said, grinning when Derek let out a long-suffering sigh that couldn’t quite hide the smile on his face.

Being a supernatural midwife wasn’t going to be the most glamorous of jobs – but Derek couldn’t wait to actually start his career for good.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank your for reading my lovelies and thank you for the positive feedback on the first chapter! It is much appreciated! 
> 
> Fun fact: the day I posted this I had to take the train for a 6-hour journey and I ended up sitting next to ... a midwife! I took it as a cosmic sign, not going to lie :).
> 
> Disclaimer: Just as a heads up, this chapter is basically another exposition chapter. I had originally decided to start with the time-jump "5 Years After", but then decided to flesh out Derek's struggles just a little bit more.

_6 Years Ago_

When Derek came home for Christmas break during his third year of midwife training, there were three things he knew without a shadow of doubt.

Number one, working as a supernatural Alpha midwife was going to be hard work. It was going to be filled with unexpected challenges and the occasional tragedy, but ultimately he was going to be driven by an overpowering sensation of reward, of knowing that he could be there for people during a very special and vulnerable time in their life.

Number two, Derek was becoming more and more convinced that more Alphas should take up the profession, if only to learn empathy and get educated on how to behave during a birth and what _not_ to say during a birth.

On a related note, Derek was going to punch the next Alpha that asked him for the ‘Knot-Stitch’. Hard. He wasn’t a violent Alpha, normally, but he would not feel even a little bit sorry for it.

Number three, being an Alpha midwife in a mildly conservative town was not going to be impossible, but it was definitely going to be a challenge.

Derek knew that his family members had tried their best to stand up for him while he’d been gone for school, but every time he came back home it seemed as if there were new rumors about him, new harsh whispers that hurt him deep inside, despite his best attempts at shaking them off.

Derek’s grandmothers were particularly invested in trying to intimidate the more old-fashioned members of the community at their various senior citizen activities, but Derek’s werewolf hearing could easily pick up the gossip when he picked Nana Abby up from knitting club two days before Christmas.

“I tried, little bear, but not even the threat of my knitting needles would get them to shut up,” Nana Abby said sadly as they drove off.

Derek was reasonably sure that her ears would have been drooping if she had been in her full wolf shift.

“It’s ok. Having a defective knot or having been coddled into brain-damage is definitely not the worst I’ve heard,” he told her, trying to sound more chipper than he felt and forcing a smile when Nana Abby quietly grasped his shoulder.

He was sure that his werewolf Omega grandmother could see right through him, but he appreciated that she kept up the illusion.

The day before Christmas, Derek’s werewolf Alpha grandmother Greta got kicked out of the Alphas-Only-Cigar Club’s annual holiday dinner for getting into a brawl with one particularly conservative Alpha, following his suggestion that Derek had only become a midwife because he liked to be stuffed full with at least two knots at any given time.

This time, no one in their family was pretending to be unaffected by the situation.

“It’s not like I wanted to stay in that stupid sexist club anyway, I only joined that one time because your mother got tired of me posturing when she was pregnant with Talia and thought I needed a different audience to brag to. Besides, that insult didn’t even make sense – not that there’s anything wrong with being gay to begin with! I mean, how are you supposed to deliver a cub if you’re being knotted, it’s not like you can concentrate when your toes are curling and you’re headed straight for your fifth consecutive orgasm! I’ve been there, it’s just completely impractical!” Nana Greta grumbled that evening, a steak pressed to the still healing bruises on her temple as she sat in the living-room armchair like a vengeful King Joffrey on the Iron Throne.

Derek sat at her feet miserably, feeling a little overwhelmed with guilt for having been the cause of the fight, sadness that society at large was still so blatantly homophobic, and also a little bit choked with affection for his feisty grandmother and her lifelong commitment to protect him.

He wasn’t even truly listening, too focused on the purple bruise on Nana Greta’s forehead, but Cora certainly was, her eyes going wide in shock.

“You hooked up with an _Alpha_?” Derek’s 15-year-old little Alpha sister gasped and Nana Greta shrugged, completely unperturbed.

“Of course I did, Cora-Cub, many Alphas! I was in my sexual prime during the 1960s! It would have been a waste not to show off those perky tits in exchange for mind-blowing orgasms! We all experimented back then, even that rat-faced bastard Perkins! He can donate to the _700 Club_ all he wants, doesn’t change the fact that his tongue breached quite a few unexpected border walls back in the day! Hey, did you see that shiner I gave him? Come to think of it, I think I’m still in my physical prime, that was impressive, even for me!”

“How someone who dragged me to peace demonstrations during my entire childhood can be so proud of a display of brutish violence is beyond me. By the way, good job on punching the father of the mayor in the knot, _Mother_ , I’m sure Mike will remember that fondly the next time I try to get him to sign off on funding for the high school.” Talia interrupted, looking both concerned and outraged, though Derek wasn’t sure whether she was angrier about the fight or the reason the fight had been started in the first place.

“Seriously though, an _Alpha_? What was that like, Nana?” Cora asked again, eyes shining with interest, and Nana Greta patted her shoulder, an equally satisfied and knowing expression on her face.

“Marvelous. I mean … I think so, at least, we were pretty stoned most of the time in those days, so I might have forgotten a detail or two. It was the kind of feeling that …”

“Momma I beg you, please don’t finish this sentence! Please! Zandrine and I have plans tonight and you’re killing my game!” Peter yelped, leading Nana Abby to snort loudly.

“Plans? What kind of plans could you _possibly_ have with an Omega who’s 39 weeks and 5 days pregnant? Take it from me, kid, when I was this pregnant with you I would have chopped off your mother’s knot if she’d gotten it within five feet of me. Also, don’t interrupt your mother you hypocrite son of mine, if _you_ can brag about your Alpha prowess all day long, then so can she!”

“For your information, _Mommy_ , it’s not my fault I was raised in a sex-positive home, so really, this is all your and Momma’s fault! If you guys had taught us to be ashamed of our sexuality and always turn off the lights like a proper married couple, no one here would think that sex is beautiful and normal or anything outrageous like that! Also, I was going to read Zan erotic love poetry, because her ears are amongst her most erogenous …”

“Damn it Peter, baby-ears present! Sebastian, help!” Talia barked, one hand clamping over Peter’s mouth and the other gesticulating wildly to some of Derek’s cousins playing X-box in the corner of the living room.

They had been ignoring the conversation ever since the excitement over Nana Greta’s fight-club adventure had died down and Derek was reasonably sure that no baby-ears were in current danger of being corrupted.

Although he was still feeling incredibly guilty and at least partially responsible for his Nana’s battle wounds, Derek found himself smiling when his Omega father Sebastian marched into the living room and stopped short, bushy eyebrows rising up to his hairline at the sight of his family huddled around a battle-worn Nana Greta.

Derek’s father had just gotten off duty from his job as a dispatcher at the police department and when he let out a resigned huff Derek knew that he’d just connected an earlier 911 call to the present situation.

“Alright family, lay it on me, what did I miss?” Derek’s father asked, instinctively dropping down next to him and scratching his neck in slow, comforting circles.

Derek had never been too fond of gender stereotypes, but his father was definitely adept at reading a room and instantly recognizing who was in most desperate need of Omega snuggles.

“Let’s see. The mayor’s dad suggested that Derek wants to be a midwife because he’s gay, Nana Greta punched him in the knot and got banned from the Cigar club for life, there are people in this town who really suck and the next time someone hurts my baby-brother it’ll be _me_ coming for their knots, Peter is a pervert because he grew up in a sex-positive home, Nana Greta hooked up with Alphas in the 60s but was too stoned to remember what it felt like, and Auntie Zan’s ears are apparently really …”

“I get the picture, thank you my love,” Derek’s dad chuckled, his large hand now rubbing circles into Derek’s back like he’d done when Derek had only been a tiny cub.

“Also … I’m pretty sure I’m into Alphas,” Cora muttered, more to herself than to anyone else.

For a moment, no one in the room said anything, all of them staring at her, and Cora jerked, as if she’d just remembered where she was.

She barely had time to look shell-shocked at herself for accidentally coming out before Derek’s father pulled her in with his free hand, one child now securely tucked under each arm.

“Alphas are pretty great, Cora-Cub, I get it. Just make sure you bring home a nice one. We already got your Uncle Peter, we don’t need a second one with an over-inflated knot in this family.”

“I resent that! My knot is perfect, thank you very much! By the way, I know I met your Aunt Zan on my first day of college, so I never quite got the chance for my own dalliance with an Alpha, but I’m pretty sure I can answer any questions you have, Cora-Cub, seeing how I can …”

“Yes Peter, thank you,” Talia interrupted, but Derek saw the affectionate smile she directed at her brother, appreciating his misguided offer for what it was.

“Why, I guess this calls for cookies! I think I still got some of that rainbow icing left,” Nana Abby declared, already headed for the kitchen to bake up a storm, as she tended to do whenever something of importance happened at the Hale home.

“Cookies!” Derek’s cousins yelled, suddenly very much interested in the conversation again, and the room erupted into the usual chaos that came with being a large family, as tiny feet tripped over each other on their way to the kitchen.

Derek’s father let out a soft chuckle and pulled his children closer, head bent to the side so Talia could tuck her chin into the crook of his neck.

“You’ll be ok, kids. I promise you, you’ll be ok,” he whispered softly, his words meant for both Derek and Cora, and Derek swallowed heavily, listening to Cora doing the same on their father’s other side.

When Derek looked up again, Laura was kneeling right in front of them, expression almost adorably determined.

“And if you’re not ok, you still got your big old Alpha sis to beat up the idiots for you!” she promised, eyes crinkling when Talia chuckled.

“You also got your big old Alpha granny to beat up the idiots for you, it looks like,” Derek’s mom said, but when she pressed a kiss to his forehead Derek had no shadow of a doubt that his entire family had their backs.

_===================_

_4 Years Ago_

 

Knowing that his entire family had his back was one thing.

Remembering it while tossing and turning all night and being worried sick that he’d never succeed as a midwife was something else entirely.

It wasn’t that Derek hadn’t known that getting started would be the biggest challenge of all, but he still hadn’t expected to be here, almost four months after getting his degree, and not having found one single client.

As the days had turned into weeks and then turned into months, Derek had become increasingly unhappy, to the point where he’d even visibly lost weight out of sheer heartache and self-deprecating thoughts, the dark voices in his head echoing the hushed whispers all over town despite his best attempts to smash them to pieces.

He was fresh out of university, he was knee-deep in debt, and he was really trying hard not to actually cry over his life choices, living at home to save up for a practice he wasn’t even sure he’d ever get to open.

What should have made him feel better but actually made him feel even sadder was the anxiety and commiserating heartache he could sense coming from his entire family, all of them tip-toeing around him because no one really knew what to do or say and all of them on edge because of his misery, even the human members.

No one except his nanas, apparently, who decided to take action after the fifth night in a row that Derek had basically just moved his food around on his plate for an hour, his stomach too tight with nerves to actually feel hungry enough to eat and thinking about the new batch of flyers with his name and phone-number he’d put up all over town that afternoon. The last batch had either been taken down by traditional store owners or vandalized, and Derek almost couldn’t blame the child-bearing population of Beacon Hills for ignoring him, reasonably sure that he himself wouldn’t have called a guy who had a large knot drawn all over his face.

Nana Greta and Nana Abby had had enough, however, and so they sat him down one night for an intervention, to provide him with cookies, red wine, and grandmotherly pep talks, and even though Derek couldn’t remember too much about it the next day, he was pretty sure about five things.

Firstly, Nana Abby’s anxiety over his imminent starvation had prompted her to bake the best cookies Derek had ever eaten in his life and the fact that his stomach had rebelliously thanked him for it the next morning had been completely worth it.

Secondly, the fact that he’d spent almost half a day clinging to a toilet had probably had little to do with Nana Abby’s cookies and everything to do with not one but five bottles that had ended up missing from Nana Greta’s secret wolfsbane wine stash.

Thirdly, he was pretty sure that Nana Greta had drunkenly offered to go out and impregnate the young single Omegas of Beacon Hills to drum up some business for him and Nana Abby had even more drunkenly offered her blessing.

Fourthly, he’d cried like a baby at one point and even though only he and his grandmothers had been awake and the house had been deathly quiet it had still felt like his entire family was weeping with him, all of their love pouring into him through Nana Greta’s firm embrace and Nana Abby’s gentle head scritches and soft forehead nuzzles.

Fifthly, his family had his back. They always had his back, even when that knowledge was pushed down by self-doubt and fear.

His nanas, it turned out, weren’t the only ones willing to go the extra mile to help him build up a client list, as he came to realize another three months later, when Aunt Zandrine, nine months pregnant with identical triplets, went into labor right in the middle of her and Peter’s weekly outing to the Beacon Hills’ farmers market.

The call came just after 10 am and by the time Derek sprinted onto the plaza Peter’s hair was standing up in wild tangles, his frantic voice resonating over the entire market.

Aunt Zandrine lay propped up against a big pumpkin, clutching her large belly and heaving out gasping breaths, her expression determined as she glared at Peter, who was now wringing his hands in frustration.

“… listen, Zan, I know you can do this, you’ve done it before, you’re a goddess and I worship at your feet, I do, but there’s _three_ babies in there, we need to get you to the birthing den, you can’t …”

“Oh for heaven’s sake, Peter, I … aaaaargh, fuck! Go get a donut or something, I need to speak to Derek! Bring me one, too, I’m going to be starving after this!”

“Auntie Zan!” Derek gasped out, interrupting the marital argument and dropping to his knees next to her and taking in her condition, hands moving quickly and efficiently on her belly as he checked the cubs’ positions and reassured himself of their strong heartbeats.

“We have to move you quickly, Peter’s right! The cubs are shifted, which means they’ll be born quicker than a human baby, we don’t have much time left, I need you to …”

“Listen to me, Derek!” Zandrine hissed, pulling him in by the collar of his shirt.

“Do you see all these people? Those are the people who’ve been making you miserable for months, _years_ even! They’re all watching this, waiting for you to fail! But you won’t, got it? You’re going to kick ass delivering my kids, as you did when you were freaking five years old! We’re going to do this right here, right now, where everyone can see, so they can all take their bigotry and prejudice and … aarrrgh, god! So they can _shove_ it, alright? And once they see how good you are, they’ll stop taking their birthing business to someone else, they’ll come running to you, they’ll …. aaaaaaargh!”

“Zan, I don’t think …”

“Derek, don’t be a dumb dumb! I know what I’m doing! I’m not an idiot! You’ve been telling me for months that this birth will the easiest yet because the cubs shifted in utero to make more room for themselves and are much smaller than they’ll be in their human size! I wouldn’t risk their lives just for publicity, stop giving me those tragic green eyes! I’ll be fine, they’ll be fine, and you’ll get your big break, I just know it! This plan is brilliant and it is going to work, trust me!”

“Zandrine Marylou Hale … are you trying to tell me you’ve been in labor all morning and planned this? You’re a mad woman. I married a mad woman. Damn it, I must be mad, too!” Peter groaned, his voice pleading, and Zandrine grabbed his collar as well, pulling him down so roughly he barely avoided smashing against Derek’s nose.

“I … know … what … I’m … doing!” she gritted out, following the proclamation with a loud howl of pain that made both werewolves wince.

Derek had assisted during more than ten werewolf multiple litter births in his training, including three sets of triplets, and one set of quadruplets, which wasn’t all that uncommon among the older packs.

They’d covered the phenomenon in class, learning all about why unborn litters shifted in the womb to allow Omegas to carry them to term, but he nevertheless held his breath until the first cub breached the birth canal and he knew for sure that it was, indeed, shifted.

He’d tuned out the murmurs of the masses surrounding them, focusing only on his aunt and the cubs’ heartbeats, hands working swiftly and confidently as he guided one cub after the other into the world, all three of them perfect and healthy, with soft fur in identical shades of black.

“Local Alpha Midwife Stays Calm Amidst Drama in the Produce Section”, the _Beacon Hills Gazette_ headline read the next day, the article accompanied by a fetching photo of Derek holding up one of the cubs to allow Peter to snap the cord.

“I mean, it’s a nice title and all, I’m just saying that ‘Parents Who Don’t Get that Old People Sex is Gross’ would have been way more appropriate,” Malia mused after she’d read the article, her mortification over the indignity of it all somewhat soothed when the cubs finally changed to human and Derek informed the family they had grown by three healthy little Alpha ladies.

“Alphas Are Stupid, I Wanted Omega Babies,” was four-and-a-half year old Vesta’s suggestion for an alternative title. Peter and Zandrine’s only human daughter had just gotten old enough to understand that there was a difference between Alphas and Omegas and that Omegas were a rare occurrence among the Alpha-dominated Hale bloodline.

“Mommy and Daddy are going to get right on that as soon as your baby-sisters are out of diapers,” Peter promised her, unashamedly ignoring the scandalized looks Derek’s father and Nana Abby leveled at him and smiling so brightly and happily it actually tugged deep inside Derek’s heart.

She had a point, of course. Greta’s five siblings had all been Alphas, Talia and Peter were werewolf Alphas, and so were Derek and his two sisters.

Even though Zandrine and Peter’s kids were a mix of werewolf and human they were also predominantly Alphas, including 17-year-old werewolf Malia, 13-year old human twins Romulus and Remus, 10-year old werewolf Thor, 7-year old werewolf Luna, and 2-year old human Ares, who had graduated out of pull-ups just in time for Peter and Zandrine to once more bankrupt the pack over the purchase of diapers.

Nana Abby, Sebastian, and Zandrine had married into the pack, which left Vesta and her 15-year old oldest werewolf brother Apollo the only Hale-born Omegas in three generations.

Apollo was generally chill about being spoiled and coddled by the entire pack and hadn’t expected the triplets to be anything but Alphas, but Vesta had had her little heart set on Omega babies, leaving her quite grumpy, wobbly-lipped, and leveling accusatory glances at Derek, clearly having identified him as the bringer of bad news in this scenario.

Derek abhorred gender stereotypes.

He did.

He also doubted there was even one Alpha in the history of decent Alphas who hadn’t ever been foiled by the sight of big sad Omega tears, regardless of whether they were crocodile tears or not.

He also, really, _really_ doubted that any decent werewolf had ever been able to walk away from a sad little breakable human, regardless of whether they were Alphas or Omegas, which was why Vesta was currently snuggled up in his arms, munching on Nana Abby’s cookies, and being reassured that being the Omega Princess of the house also had its advantages.

“‘Local Alpha Stud Shouldn’t Have Sampled the Norwegian Licorice Schnapps Before Making Baby-Naming Decisions’ would have been an equally appropriate title. This god-complex is getting a bit out of hand, I think,” Derek’s father whispered to Talia behind his hand when Peter wasn’t paying attention.

“True that,” Talia said drily as she continued scratching the names Frigg, Freya, and Fulla into the Hale ancestry tree, the naming-ceremony one of her duties as the pack Alpha.

“I don’t know about you, but I think ‘Goddess of Strength Awes the Population of Beacon Hills’ would have been the best title of all!” Peter declared love-drunkenly, barely looking up from where he’d been fluffing up Zandrine’s pillow.

The new mother was resting on the couch in the living room, three freshly shifted babies tucked against her chest and sleeping the sleep of the innocent, yet unaware of the madhouse they’d been born into.

“‘Dedicated Auntie Goes the Extra Mile For Her Kick-Ass Midwife Alpha Nephew and Really Hopes Those Bigoted Idiots Are Finally Waking Up’” Zandrine whispered to Derek when he came to check on her a while later, looking exhausted but undeniably pleased with herself.

Derek smiled back at her, opening his mouth to reply when his cell-phone rang.

He was startled for a second. After all, his entire family was home and there weren’t many people who called him outside the pack, and he lifted the phone to his ear with a confused expression, his “Hello?” cautious and curious.

“Yes … this is he … yes … uh hu … oh really … thank you, that’s … really? Wait … are you serious? _Really_?”

Getting established as an Alpha midwife in a mildly conservative town was a challenge … but when his entire family erupted into cheers, Derek felt more than ready to finally take on the challenge for real.

 

==================== 

 

_Today (5 Years Later)_

 

“Yes Mrs. Alvarez, I can guarantee you that having my hands stuck up your Omega’s birth canal will not entice me to go into a mindless rut and want to mount him right there in the birthing tub.”

“No, Mr. Alali, being a 27-year old Alpha in my prime does _not_ mean I intend to claim your first-born and challenge your Alpha for your hand in marriage.”

“Yes, Mrs. Hayashi, I do not have personal experience with childbirth myself, but I have assisted during over five hundred births already and can assure you that I can provide excellent care to your wife, even if I can’t fully understand how she’s feeling.”

“Yes, Count Sânge, I will have enough blood bags on hand to be able to react quickly if something goes wrong during the birth ... no, you may _not_ snack on them if you get bored halfway through! What are you even ... hold on a second, _Sânge_? That’s Romanian for ’blood’, isn’t it? Wait, are you trying to _troll_ me? What the hell, why ... damn it, did Bobby Finstock put you up to this? No? Then why can I hear him cackling in the background?”

”No, Mr. Miller, I am _not_ interested in participating in a threesome with you and your Alpha because you’re experiencing a severe case of pregnant Omega horniness! Do not call me again, this is beyond inappropriate!”

“Yes, Lady Bluebelia, I did indeed assist during my cousin’s birth when I was five years old. She just turned 22, so I think I did a pretty good job all things considered. I even assisted during the births of her four youngest siblings, so … huh? Yes, my aunt and uncle had their 12th child four months ago. No, that’s _not_ normal for werewolves! Yes, I know the leading Alpha of the South-Eastern pack territory boasted about how she’d sired over 20 children to strenghten the Duggal Pack in _Supernatural World Weekly_ last year. I agree, I’m also pretty sure it’s just because they wanted that TLC reality show, but I keep a copy in my waiting room to scare off repeat customers just in case. Yes, that was a joke. Listen, I don’t mean to be rude, but I just pulled up your information and it looks like you’re in your late … two-hundred-and-eighties? That seems to surpass childbearing age even for fairies, are you actually sure you’ll be needing my services or … of course I’m not trying to suggest that … yes Lady Bluebelia, I love talking to you, too, I just … alright, you may drop off sparkle-dust cookies with Erica later this week, she’ll be delighted.”

“Tell her to use the blue sparkle dust this time, the orange one gave me the runs!” Erica called from the front room as Derek hung up the phone, leaning around the corner of the door a second later to wave a form into Derek’s direction.

Derek snorted when Erica deposited the insturance form on his desk, muttering, “I think we _all_ got the runs from the orange one,” as he scrawled his signature at the bottom.

Derek had opened his practice four and a half years ago and business had slowly but surely picked up since then.

The practice was located on the edge of the town, in a small one-story house that had once been a two bedroom family home and had come with a large garden with a pond adjacent to the woods, giving Derek the option of examining some of his more high-maintenance supernatural clients outside if he or they so chose.

Derek wasn’t a speciecist, but he was _not_ going to let an Ogre into a place where he ate his lunch.

He had converted the house’s former living room into the waiting area, complete with a receptionist area, and the two bedrooms had been remodeled to serve as his consultation office and examination room respectively.

He, Laura, Cora, his father, and Peter had spent an entire week remodeling the small kitchen and he’d also done a complete overhaul of the bathroom, repainting it from an atrocious color that Cora had lovingly referred to as diahrrea-poop-brown to a lovely shade of soft pink that _Cosmopolitan Wolf_ had advertized as a particularly relaxing color for werfolk.

Derek still wasn’t sure it was actually true, but as a trained and experienced midwife regularly giving out advice about hemhroids he was quite graphically aware that his clients were going to need all the relaxation time they could get.

The house had a vintage-looking front porch and it was also the place where Erica spent a lot of her workday, drinking coffee, canoodling with Boyd, and chatting with clients.

Derek had hired hired Erica as a receptionist three days after the opening, though he questioned the wisdom of his decision on at least a bi-weekly basis.

Erica was 25 years old, a bitten Alpha werewolf, and one of the few non-Hale-related members of Derek’s pack.

She had gotten the bite from Talia during her Sophomore year of high school, when an epileptic seizure had almost killed her.

However, whenever she told the story, Erica liked to claim that she’d only been bitten because the pack had run out of babysitters to deal with Peter and Zandrine’s every-growing brood.

She was feisty, challenged Derek on any given day of the week on how to run the practice more efficiently, signed patients in, and took perverse pleasure in snapping at over-bearing Alphas trying to heli-copter all over Derek’s attempts to examine their pregnant Omegas.

When she wasn’t painting her nails in all colors of the rainbow she was taking care of essentially all the paper-work, saving Derek from having to deal with it and, if he was honest about it, also saving him from losing his mind.

Erica was mated to a 26-year old Omega werwolf named Boyd, who had the build of an Alpha and ocassionally assisted Derek during a more physically challenging supernatural delivery, most recently including the hatching of a dragon egg that had left them both smelling like sulphur for days.

In his main job, Boyd worked for the fire department and sometimes helped out as a barista in his family’s little café. It was there that he’d met a newly turned Erica, serving her a pumpkin spice late with caramel sauce and giving her his number five minutes into the argument that had ensued over whether or not the café should start making their own caramel sauce from scratch.

Like Erica, Boyd was bitten, but he hadn’t gotten turned until a little over a year ago, happily dating her as a human for almost four years before he’d asked a cautious Talia for the bite.

Erica had proposed the idea after reseraching werewolf mate-bonds, which ran deeper than a normal Alpha-Omega bond and were the subject of many romantic werewolf comedies and dramas.

Zandrine had taken it upon herself to advise Boyd on the subject, cornering him after a pack dinner one night and handing out her unsoliticed wisdom with an almost sadistically gleefully expression.

“You know it’s not necessary, right? Peter and I are going strong as ever and I’ve never even thought twice about getting turned. Sure, our sex life would be even more phenomenal if we could actually feel each other’s pleasure from head to toe through the wolfy-parts of the bond, rather than, you know, getting just that little bit of a tingling in your privates when you just _know_ your husband is rubbing one out under the desk in his office thinking of you in the new red negligee he bought you during his lunch-break. But the connection also applies to the bad parts, so we’d always feel each others pain and I personally don’t think that’s romantic, I think that’s disturbing.”

“Yeah well, maybe I wouldn’t have a litter of annoying siblings if he could feel the horrors you go through during childbirth _and_ your pregnancies, Mom,” Malia had chimed into her mother’s conversation with an increasingly uncomfortable looking Boyd, earning herself a swat on the head and a disapproving glare from Zandrine.

“Please excuse my oldest, she was born in the woods and that’s literally how she behaves. Anyway, my dearest Boyd, don’t listen to her, pregnancies and childbirth are actually a wonderful experience and you’ll make it through them even if you are carrying a little werewolf cub, if that’s what you’re worried about. Granted, they kick a bit stronger than a human baby, but the rumor that they use your ribcage as a scratching post for their little claws is completely unfounded and was made up by speciesist to discourage humans from marrying into the supernatural world. I mean, I even made it through a triplet werewolf pregnancy with my sanity intact, so you don’t have to worry about a thing! Now, would you like to join me for a lovely peanut butter pickle sandwich?”

“Peanut butter-pickle sandwich? Why would you want one of tho… oh my god, _MOM! DAD! STOP!_ ”

Malia had still been grumbling about the idignity of “old people having sex, so gross!” when Talia had given Boyd the bite and the year that had passed since had been quite eventful for the extended Hale family.

Erica and Boyd had gotten mate-bonded in a beautiful ceremony in Las Vegas and Nana Greta had almost gotten banned from all the casions on the strip for cheating, much to the mortification of the entire pack.

Malia had finally gotten her license after claiming for years that, as a child of the woods, she was much more comfortable on her own feet, only to promptly wreck Peter’s sports car on her first drive to the local burger joint to pick up a sandwich her mother had been craving.

Peter and Zandrine’s identical triplet daughters Frigg, Freya, and Fulla had been confused with each other and ended up in the wrong classroom a total of thirty-five times during their first week of Kindergarten, had thrown a unified tantrum over their parents’ attempts to dress them in different colors to solve the problem every day for two weeks straight, and had only given up their joint protest when a frazzled Peter had bought their cooperation by secretly getting them a puppy.

A month later, Vesta had developed a massive dog-allergy – that thankfully did not apply to her furrier family members – and Derek, who’d recently moved out of the large family home because being on call 24/7 meant he’d always disturb someone when a hysterical patient or their Alpha called, had suddenly found himself living with a 60 pound dobermann-labrador puppy named Bernard.

Bernard refused to listen to any other name, had ridiculously large ears, needed approximately two seconds of sleep a day, and had destroyed not one but four pairs of Derek’s shoes before they’d reached the understanding that Derek was the Alpha in the house and that his shoes were off limits.

Of course that understanding was slightly different from Bernard’s perspective, but Derek could deal with his puppy deigning himself the true Alpha in the home who was just humoring Derek’s attempts at discipline … as long as he didn’t have to shop for shoes every other week.

He had actually been in the process of ordering two pairs of new black converse off of Amazon when Laura had stumbled into his aparment to tearfully inform him that she’d accidentally knocked up Jordan Parrish, the Omega deputy she’d been dating on and off for the past three years.

Derek had been mostly pleased but also a bit wary as he’d written down the due-date into his calendar, adding a reminder for himself to check back with the local witch coven for calming potions that worked on hysterical Alpha werewolf-mommies to be.

Just in case.

In January, his parents had celebrated their thirtieth mating anniversary and Aunt Zandrine had added to the celebratory atmosphere by going into labor right in the middle of the cake-cutting, which was why Derek had spent the next two hours alternating between checking his aunt’s progress and stopping by the living room to get another bite of cake.

The littlest Hale had made his grand entrance just as Derek’s parents had recreated their ceremonial waltz and Derek had almost bitten through his lips in his attemps to suppress his grin at the looks on his family’s faces when, after ten children gifted with names that would have gotten them beaten up in school if it hadn’t been for their werewolf lineage, a tearful Peter had held up the child _The Lion King-_ style and declared the werewolf Alpha’s name to be Bob.

Little Bob would not be the littlest Hale much longer, however, as evidenced by the circumference of the very pregnant belly Derek found himself examining one sunny afternoon at the beginning of May.

“Jordan’s perfectly healthy and the baby is doing fine, but damn it Laura, what did I say about providing proper nutrition for one’s pregnant Omega?” Derek hissed at his sister once Jordan had excused himself to go to the bathroom and Laura had the good grace to look just a little bit ashamed.

“I know Derek, I know, it’s just … he’s been having these really intense cravings and what am I supposed to do, deny my Omega the pleasures he’s desiring because I accidentally knotted him that one time without protection and he’s now carrying the fruit of our eternal love as a result? You try staying strong at the sight of your pregnant Omega’s eyes welling up with tears because someone ate the last twinkie and he can’t even remember it was _him_! Seriously, I dare you!”

“Hand over the emergency twinkies, Laura,” Derek replied calmly, holding out his hand and raising his eyebrows when Laura grudgingly pulled a couple of twinkies out of her purse, throwing up her arms in surrender and huffing “Fine!” when Derek deftly reached into her jacket pocket to grab the one she’d been hiding in there.

“Is she still claiming that baby was an accident or is she ready to admit that her inner Alpha’s been dying to knock him up ever since he issued her that first speeding ticket?” Erica asked as Derek watched an irate and twinkie-deprived Jordan waddle over to the car five minutes later, joining him at the window and hooking her chin on Derek’s shoulders to get a better view at the spousal crisis unfolding outside.

“She’s still in denial, I think. It goes against her political views, so I doubt she’ll ever admit to it,” Derek replied thoughtfully, finally abandoning the by now familiar spectacle and thumbing through his appointment book.

He cocked his head in confusion when he noticed that Erica had added a last-minute initial consultation for five o clock that afternoon.

“What’s a … Biles?” Derek asked, frowning, and Erica chuckled.

“It’s Stiles, actually. I went to school with him over in Beacon Heights, he was best friends with the kid who got turned by that rogue Alpha a couple of years ago and then magically manifested True Alpha powers or something. I know this is really short notice Derek, and I’m sorry, I am, but his situation is somewhat unique and I wanted to help him out.”

“And you thought that scheduling an appointment that will take at least two hours would be the perfect thing to do on a Friday afternoon? I could have had plans, you realize that, right?”

“ _Do_ you have plans?” Erica shot back, clucking her tongue when Derek shook his head with a grimace.

“Still, you could have told me before now, it’s almost five already!” Derek held his ground, but Erica just shrugged.

“It’s not my fault you only check your appointments once a day, this is on you. Besides, you _should_ have plans, Derek, you’re hot like burning and if you weren’t my pack brother and the whole thing wouldn’t feel kinda incestous, I’d be all over that,” Erica mused, the corners of her lips quirking when Derek cocked his head with a raised eyebrow.

“What? Just because I’m a sexually satisfied Alpha mate-bonded to the hottest Omega in all the lands that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate the visual aesthetic of a big knot like yours! Don’t be so heteronormative, that’s very last century. And besides, Boyd’s been casually hinting at having a threesome with another Alpha for months now and I’d be totally into it!”

“You’ve never even seen my knot, stop talking about it!” Derek replied, making a grab for his coffee mug to re-fill it.

“Regrettably true, but I _have_ seen you naked and based on the size of your Alpha monster-cock, your knot can’t be anything but ginormous!”

Derek spilled his coffee, letting out a yelp when the hot liquid splattered all over his hand.

Answering awkward pregnancy-sex related questions was a staple of Derek’s workday and over the past couple of years he had heard enough horror stories to be fervently grateful that he did, in fact, _not_ have an Alpha monster-cock.

Sure, as a werewolf he was maybe a tiny bit above the average human Alpha, but being on the larger side of things really wasn’t all it was cracked up to be if one wanted ones Omega to take pleasure in intercourse outside of heat, so as far as he was concerned, Derek was doing absolutely fine in the cock-department.

Not that he was strutting around and crowing his sexual prowess to the heavens like a rooster, or anything.

He wasn’t Uncle Peter, thank you very much.

In completely unrelated news, Erica really needed to stop watching porn during her lunch-break.

“I don’t have an Alpha monster-cock!” Derek exclaimed, his ears burning in embarassment as he glared at Erica.

“Well, _that’s_ regrettable. I’m really not sure I want to spread my legs for an Alpha who’s anything less than _monsterously_ endowed in the cock-department,” a new voice rang through the office, dry as the desert and filled with epic proportions of judgment.

It was official – Derek hated _everything_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... so remember how I said Stiles shows up? He does, in a way, but it turned out, the chapter would have been way too long, so I had to split it up. Next up is the initial consultation, though, pinky-promise :). 
> 
> Feedback is, as always, appreciated :).


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Monday, my lovelies! 
> 
> Warnings: I mention a benign tumor and fertility issues in this chapter. No one dies, but I figured I'd let you know just in case.
> 
> Btw, I should add that in this world, midwives are primarily in charge of pregnancy and birth and OBGYNs are only consulted in cases of high-risk pregnancies.

So.

Much.

Judgment.

Derek spun around when the speaker let out a snort, his blush spreading from his ears to his cheeks and then all the way down his neck and into his shirt when he came face to face with the speaker and his entourage.

The group consisted of a wide-eyed, uneven-jawed, and all overall greatly confused looking Alpha, a giggling, petite female Omega with long shiny black hair and sparkling dark eyes, and a tall, lanky and mole-dotted male Omega, with sharp eyes the color of whiskey and tousled hair of almost the same color.

It was clear as day that the male Omega had spoken earlier, his arms crossed over his chest in a manner that Derek, who’d grown up with sisters who were severely unimpressed with him on the regular, immediately recognized.

“I really don’t have a monster-cock!” he blurted, caught off guard and suddenly experiencing a pressing urge to bash his head against the wall repeatedly.

“I mean … uh … welcome to Hale’s Midwifery Practice for Mothers and Fathers of all Kind? My name is Derek and I am so incredibly sorry about this!”

The petite Omega burst into full-blown laughter and the Alpha next to her flashed Derek a helpless smile, his expression telling him that he wasn’t quite sure whether to bolt, laugh, or be embarassed by the whole situation.

Derek empathized with the sentiment wholeheartedly.

The second Omega, meanwhile, didn’t change his defensive stance, though Derek thought he saw the man’s lips twitch for a tiny second.

He had good lips, too, full, luscious, and accentuated by a little mole that was dotted right into the crease of his cheek on the left side of his face.

He smelled nice, too, like pine trees, apple pies fresh out of the oven … and unmistakably pregnant, which was why Derek was absolutely going to stop thinking about the Omega’s lips.

He was a professional, that way.

Also, he still wanted to disappear through the floor boards out of embrassment, which, all things considered, had never been the most successful part of his romancing repertoire.

Derek coughed, his cheeks and ears still burning as he shifted into examination mode, Erica’s pronouncement that the pregnant Omega’s condition was ‘unique’ suddenly ringing in his head.

He took a deep sniff, hoping his face didn’t show his confusion when there was nothing in the Omega’s scent to indicate anything out of the ordinary. He smelled very healthy, in fact, at most a bit tired and maybe a little bit like he was feeling nauseous, though that wasn’t suprising given that he seemed to be nearing the end of his first trimester.

When Derek turned towards Erica for clarification the other Alpha smiled sheepishly, looking appropriately chagrined over the terrible first impression.

“Derek, this is my friend Stiles, his best friend Scott, and Scott’s mate, Kira. Guys, this is my boss Derek, and on behalf of the practice I would like to apologize again for all that monster-cock talk. It was my fault, I promise, Derek doesn’t use this kind of language, he’s got manners. Derek, why don’t you take them into the office so they can explain why they’re here. As I said, it’s a bit of unique situation. Uh … cookies anyone? Derek’s nana bakes them herself and they’re to die for, I swear. Coffee? You’ll probably be here a while, so we would love to make you comfortable! Again, Derek’s a super professional, this was all my fault!”

“Coffee would be gre… oh shit, sorry Stiles, actually, scratch that. He still gets nauseous from the smell. I’ll take a cookie though,” the Alpha, Scott, said with a grin.

“He’ll take the whole box. I seem to have developed a _monster_ -sized appetite, lately,” Stiles said shortly, ignoring Scott’s reproachful look when the Alpha let out a chastising noise.

When he looked back at Derek the older Alpha was momentarily taken aback by the level of unease and hostility he could read all over the Omega’s face and posture.

Derek wasn’t an animal, per se, but for a second he could almost feel his wolf tuck its tail in between its legs, whining _What did I do_? in confusion.

The Omega flinched, a hint of an apologetic expression appearing upon his face but gone the next second when he squared his shoulders, marching past Derek into his office like a man walking to the gallows.

Derek had no idea what was going on, exactly, but he had a feeling the uniqueness of the situation had something to do with it.

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

It had been a long time since he’d had a first impression go this badly, not since the memorable incident two years ago when he’d flat out refused to believe that a teenaged emo Omega girl had been impregnanted by a brooding Alpha vampire, who’d climbed into her room at night to have his wicked way with her and create a child of eternal doom and sadness to reflect the dark depths of her soul.

Derek had been right, as it turned out, because even though some particularly crafty vampires had figured out a way to produce a knot without a functioning circulatory system over the years, their seed was still very much undead and not capable of impregnating a living being. He’d paid attention during his training, after all, and he still remembered Bobby Finstock’s five-hour screaming rant about a certain book series trying to teach young Omegas otherwise with rather painful accuracy. He’d also invested a couple of dollars into the “Night of the Undead Knot” sex-toy company’s stock, because Derek was nothing but a supporter of free-thinking entrepreneurs.

Still, the pregnant teen had been very upset with him for refusing to believe her story, leading her to admit to her parents – and subsequently the entire school – that the Alpha sire of the child was actually the bright-eyed, bubbly, and most popular Alpha in her grade: a vibrant, constantly-smiling and beautiful dark-skinned girl with big, soulful brown eyes and gorgeous curly hair, who always wore pink and who took to becoming a mother like one had just presented her with a 7 feet fluffy teddybear.

She’d insisted on accompanying her Omega to all appointments, firing off questions a mile a nano-second and squealing at the ultrasound while her Omega had continued giving Derek death-glares of doom.

The pregnant teen had treated Derek with utmost contempt all the way until he’d delivered her off a beautiful little Omega boy who, to his Alpha mother’s great delight and his Omega mother’s resignation, had been born with the sunniest disposition Derek had ever seen on a newborn.

Granted, Stiles’ expression wasn’t _quite_ as hostile as his former client’s had been, but he definitely still looked wary when he sank down onto the couch in Derek’s office, holding on to the container of cookies like he was waiting for an opportunity to use it as a weapon of defense.

Despite his obvious tension, the Omega’s amber brown eyes rolled in fond amusement when Scott and Kira immediately shoved two pillows at him to get more comfortable.

“So … a uniqe situation?” Derek asked once Scott and Kira had gotten seated as well and Scott nodded, gently nudging against Stiles’ shoulder before he turned to Derek.

“It’s not _that_ unique, really, but society at large seems to think so, which is why we’re here. See, Stiles is pregnant, but it’s actually not his biological baby, it’s mine and Kira’s baby. We made it in a laboratory and then we had to wait until Stiles’ heat. That part took almost an _eternity_ , because we all _hate_ waiting, but then he went into heat and a really nice Omega heat nurse squirted our baby up his privates! At first everything was awesome … well, for us, he’s not quite fond of all the barfing, but that’s normal, I googled to make sure! Anyways, everything was really awesome, but then we couldn’t find a midwife and that wasn’t awesome _at all_ , and …”

“Wait, wait, wait. Start at the beginning, please?” Derek interrupted him, holding up his hand and hoping he didn’t look as surprised as he felt.

Derek had actually assisted a werewolf during a surrogate pregnancy before, a middle-aged mother of five who’d agreed to carry a baby for her best friend, a human Omega who’d been rendered infertile after an accident.

It wasn’t all that uncommon for werewolves to surrogate for humans with fertility problems, since their body chemistry was very compatible and the risk of complications was almost zero, but Derek had never once heard of a human surrogating for a shifter.

His confusion must have shown after all, because Kira cleared her throat, looking serious.

“I’m a kitsune and Scott’s a werewolf,” she said and Derek’s eyebrows rose in understanding, his training knowledge quickly filling in the medical facts as he began to make sense of the situation.

Kitsunes were rather rare among the supernatural population and even though they had been known to successfully mate with humans, things were a lot more complicated if a werewolf was involved.

Due to a different chemical in their blood, Omega kitsunes carrying a baby with werewolf genes developed an antibody against their own child and the same applied to Omega werewolves, which was why it was very difficult for them to sustain such a pregnancy.

If, in fact, they even conceived at all, which was very rare in itself.

“We tried for almost three years, you know. Scott was turned and my father is human, so we figured that maybe we’d end up with a human baby, which wouldn’t have been an issue. Unfortunately, we didn’t realize that the bite also altered Scott’s genetical make-up, making it near impossible for us to conceive a non-werewolf baby. And my body just doesn’t want to … well … it took us a while to get there, but we eventually realized that it wasn’t going to happen for us the natural way,” Kira said, giving Scott a sad smile when the Alpha grasped her hand and squeezed tightly.

When she turned towards Stiles, her smile was a lot happier.

“We were talking about adoption, but as you know the chances of adopting when you’re in a mixed supernatural marriage are slim to none. Luckily for us, that’s when Stiles stepped in and volunteered. He’s been Scott’s best friend since Kindergarten and we couldn’t be more grateful to him for doing this for us!”

Scott nodded, his smile as grateful as his wife’s when he looped an arm around Stiles’ shoulder.

“We were really lucky that the pregnancy took the first time we tried, I don’t think we would have even managed one try if both of our parents hadn’t chipped in financially. When the test was positive the fertility clinic up in San Francisco gave us a list of midwives that specialize in supernatural midwifery in the area, since our baby is definitely going to be either a wolf or a half-wolf, half-fox. Unfortunately, that’s when things started getting … complicated.”

Stiles hadn’t said a word in a while, busying himself with chewing Nana’s ginger cookies, but now he let out a snort, looking like he was seriously thinking about calling Scott out for underselling the problem.

“Stiles is a Sheriff’s deputy over in Beacon Heights, so we figured we’d try the three registered midwives there, but it turns out they’re all pretty traditional. One refused to see us the moment she heard the word ‘surrogacy’, the second pitched a fit when he realized Stiles was unbonded, and the third claimed to be ok with the situation and then treated Stiles so horribly that he walked out in the middle of the examination.”

Derek grimaced and sighed deeply, not even the least bit surprised at this new information and suddenly a lot more understanding of Stiles’ initial hostility.

Beacon Heights was about a half an hour’s drive away and roughly ten times larger than Beacon Hills, giving its pregnant inhabitants a greater selection of midwives to choose from.

Unfortunatuely, Stiles wasn’t the only client from the city who’d ever found their way to Derek’s office.

Derek had only met his Beacon Heights colleagues a couple of times, but these few minutes had been enough to clue him in on their politics and attitudes, underlined by the stories he’d heard from his clients.

He’d only recently assisted a 19-year old male Omega from Beacon Heights during the birth of his little half human-half succubus Alpha baby girl, a child who’d likely never meet her Alpha mother and who’d been conceived during a drunken college party.

The boy had been so ashamed of having fallen prey to a succubus that he’d hidden the pregnancy for almost eight months and when he’d finally been found out, all three supernaturally qualified midwives of Beacon Heights had refused to help him.

Beverly LaHayes had cited her religious beliefs and refused to participate in the safe delivery of a half sex-demon, and both Paddy Robertson and Mickey Penzano had refused to take the risk of having the succubus – a possessive race by nature – show up in the middle of the birth to claim her progeny.

Derek had, of course, been cautious of the possibility of the succubus returning to claim the infant, but he’d taken the risk regardless, assisting the young man through the thankfully easy delivery while Erica and Boyd had stood guard outside the door.

“I’m truly sorry to hear that. You shouldn’t have had to go through that,” Derek said loudly, attention snapping back to the situation at hand.

“You’re damn right I should’t have,” Stiles said matter of factly, still looking tense but – Derek was relieved to note – a litte less hostile as he shoved another cookie into his mouth.

Kira clasped his shoulder briefly, looking mournful, and Derek quickly held up his notepad, trying to steer the conversation back into safer waters.

“How long ago did the embryo transfer take place?” he asked, directing his question to Stiles but not feeling particularly surprised when it was Kira, who answered.

“Let’s see … the appointment was on March 4th, but the embryo was already around 3 days old, so he should be about …”

“It’s May 10th, so he should be about 11 weeks along,” Derek finished for her, making another note in his chart.

“How are you feeling, Stiles?” Derek asked, wincing when the Omega opened his mouth mid-chew, choked, and then promptly started spitting half-chewed cookie chunks all over the place.

Derek quickly grabbed a glass of water, holding it out to the Omega, and Stiles grabbed the water, downing its contents in one go.

Luckily, Derek was indeed an experienced professional, which was why he was out of his chair, across the room, and back with the trashcan just in time for Stiles to throw up all the cookies he’d just eaten.

“Omega gag reflexes are really sensitive during pregnancy, this is completely normal. He’s going to be fine, don’t worry” Derek explained to a startled Scott and Kira, who were both looking at Stiles like they were composing his epitath.

“Yes, Stiles is … fine … totally … _fucking_ … fine … nothing … to worry here … just … move along … oh god …” Stiles wheezed in between dry heaving, one red-rimmed eye peering over the edge of the trashcan at Derek like he was solely responsible for this malady.

Derek winced in sympathy as he held out a box of tissues once Stiles was finally done and Stiles grabbed the box with a surprising amount of dignity given the situation, his eyebrows daring Derek to say anything but his cheeks splotchy with embarassment.

Derek aimed for nonchalant when he grabbed the trash can and headed for the door, figuring that Stiles’ nausea wouldn’t improve with the offending stench in the room.

“You owe me” he communicated to Erica via his eyebrows when he plonked the trash can in front of her and Erica glared right back, though she didn’t try to argue.

“So, I’m guessing you’re not feeling particularly fine right this second, but how you are feeling in general?” Derek asked when he returned to his office and Stiles frowned, one hand rubbing soothing circles into his belly and the other tapping against his leg as he began to list his ailments.

“Well, let’s see. Ever since the currently lime-sized little Gremlin that’s part Kira and part Scott has taken up residence in my baby-making parts I’ve slept more than I did during the worst of my teenage years. I can no longer even come close to coffee or curly fries, which sucks royally because that’s basically two thirds of my normal diet right there, and I keep getting the randomest and totally uncontrollabe cravings just around midnight. That’s usually a really bad life choice, by the way, because seven times out of ten I end up puking my guts out for the rest of the night and well into morning. No feeding after midnight for Stiles, it looks like, which is why I call the little bugger Gremlin, of course. Say, what is your opinion on the Omega Rights Bill 425, Paragraph 6?”

“I fully support an Omega’s right to make all decisions about their pregnancy on their own, in accordance with an obstetrics certified professional like a midwife or a regular gynecologist. Back in the day, Alphas used to be able to control their Omegas completely as soon as they got pregnant and it shames our entire country that it took until 2003 for all states to outlaw that type of breeding-control. How are your pecs feeling? Any soreness that actually prevents you from sleeping, or is it manageable?”

“Well, they’ve always been super sensitive, so I’m kind of used to them acting up at inopportune moments, but twisting my nipples has always been a staple of my masturbatory practices, so I’m beyond ready for them to stop feeling like they’re on fire. Not that I’ve felt in the mood to jerk it lately, considering that any strenuous kind of activity has me sprinting to the toilet in five seconds, tops, but still, knowing that I can’t even give them a nice little rub-down is keeping me up at night. Do you subscribe to the idea of the nuclear family governed by the laws of the Alphatriarchy?”

“Stiles!” Scott groaned, and Derek wasn’t quite sure whether the Alpha’s mortification stemmed from his best friend’s oversharing or the impromtu interrogation.

Stiles ignored his best friend, his challenging gaze never leaving Derek’s eyes.

Derek stared back, careful to keep his expression neutral and all too aware that he was still being tested.

“I think that as long as everyone’s of age and everything is consensual, people can live however they want and with whomever they want, it’s none of my business, really. Any fainting or dizziness?”

“Nope, which is kind of surprising actually, considering that my father’s been telling me I have had the coordination of a drunken giraffe ever since I learned how to walk. I’m pretty sure they’ve all been expecting me to fall into things all over the place, but the joke’s on them, because I’m actually more alert than ever. Of course that might be because Gremlin’s messed up my entire digestive system and I’ve been producing farts loud enough to disrupt the entire Alpha Tabernacle Choir practicing for the next inaugural ceremony in DC. Any feelings on the necessity of mate-bonding during pregnancy?”

 _I will not laugh about his fart joke. I’m a professional. I’m not 12,_ Derek thought, studiously not looking at a snorting Scott when he addressed his answer to all three new clients.

“While it _is_ true that sciencists have shown that mate-bonds are beneficial to the health and development of a pregnant Omega, it is also true that these studies were conducted long before the Omegaist movement started challenging the need for an Omega to be bonded at an early age. I definitely agree with leading midwives that new studies should be conducted to make sure these results weren’t doctored to further a climate of Alpha supremacy. That being said, most of my clients are bonded and they are usually more content than my rare unbonded clients. However, that has a lot to do with the exchange of oxytocin, which increases between bonded pairs during a pregnancy and only affects the mood of the Omega. The baby’s health isn’t affected, if anything, it’s _you_ that we have to worry about, Stiles. However, as long as you’re surrounded by a good support network you should be completely fine staying unbonded. How is your urination frequency?”

“More frequent than that of a drunk-ass virginal Alphaternaty pledgling attending their first Omegarority mixer. Do you think less of Kira for not being able to carry her own baby?”

Derek stilled, very aware that the tension in the room had once more edged up a notch and remembering their stories about his colleagues in Beacon Heights with startling clarity.

It had been quite a while since he’d felt the need to flash his eyes during a consultation, but Derek suddenly found himself fighting the urge with everything he had, his wolf severely agitated by the unhappiness and anger he could suddenly sense from all three clients.

He deliberated his reply for a second, wondering if he should share something so deeply personal.

Then he decided to just to go for it, all too aware that a midwife-patient relationship was built on trust and that, given Stiles’ prior experiences, he’d have to invest a lot more into building up that trust than he normally did.

“I’m going to share a story about my father with you, but I don’t think he would mind. My dad’s human and four years after my younger sister Cora was born he was diagnosed with a benign tumor that had taken over more than half of his uterus. It was growing, too, so the doctors told him there was no other solution than taking out the entire organ. Now, my father never wanted the bite, for a number of reasons, really, but that night he begged my mother to turn him. My uncle’s wife had already had two children, was pregnant with twins, and was very open about her plans to give my uncle a dozen children eventually, and my father was terrified that my mother would see her brother sire more children than her and realize that that’s what her family should have been. When he told my mother she was heartbroken that he’d ever consider that option, that he’d even thought for a second that his breeding capabilities were more important to her than the person he was. Not that he actually thought she was like that, but he was upset and scared and we live in a society that perpetuates this kind of thinking, so I guess he panicked. Once she’d calmed him down my mother sat me and my older Alpha sister down and told us to never, ever judge an Omega’s value by their fertility but by who they were as a person, whether that was a successful business Omega who was happy without children or a mate-bond, or a dedicated House-Omega like my aunt.”

He paused, taking a deep breath.

“I was only 9 at the time, but I’d never seen my mother cry before, so believe me when I say that the lesson stuck. A week later my father had his uterus removed, I was spared from more horrible sisters trying to destroy my teenage years, and my parents remain sappily in love to this day. Whether an Omega is able to carry children or not in no way, shape, or form makes them any less valuable as living beings and I think I’d like the phone number of whoever caused you to ask me that question and all questions before that, because I’d like to give them a call between colleagues and …”

“Rip their throats out with your teeth?” Stiles finished, looking relaxed for the first time since he’d arrived in Derek’s practice, his eyes shimmering Omega gold.

For a moment Derek was genuinely taken aback, but then he realized that he’d finally lost the battle against his instincts, feeling his eyes flashing Alpha red.

He shook his head, willing the overprotective wolf back into submission and reminding himself that such kind of posturing was deeply inappropriate at the workplace.

“Something like that, yeah,” he said gruffly, startling a little when Scott lunged across the table and grasped his hands tightly, his expression massively relieved.

“Thank _god_! I was starting to think I was going to have to get all close and personal with my best buddy’s privates and deliver the cub myself and that’s just _decades_ of nightmares that no one needs! Derek, if Stiles is ok with it we’d love to have you oversee the pregnacy! Stiles?”

“Sure,” Stiles replied, his eyes still shimmering Omega gold when he looked at Derek.

Derek nodded, feeling like he’d just passed a test.

“Wonderful. Would you like me to do a little examination since you’re here already, or did your last midwife do the first trimester check-up already?” he asked, cocking his head questioningly when Stiles let out a snort.

“Ha! As if I would have let him anywhere near close to my Omega parts with that white dildo-masquerading as an ultrasound wand! Nope, we didn’t even make it to the actual exam before I stormed out of his office, so basically all I know is that I’m pregnant and that the cub has a steady heartbeat, but that’s about it.”

Derek blinked. Then he blinked again, partly relieved that Stiles clearly felt more comfortable around him now and partly wondering if he’d just made a big mistake.

“It’s … really not a dildo. Also, I’m going to be using the external transducer today – if that’s ok with you,” Derek said carefully, eyebrows rising when Stiles let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank god! I mean, Kira could probably handle it, but I’m not sure my bro-hood with my man Scotty over here would survive him watching you shove a glorified dildo into my Omega parts. We’d have to rewrite our entire brocode, because bros don’t watch their bros get impaled by medical dildos.”

“They really don’t,” Scott agreed solemly, and Derek once more raised his eyebrows when both men high-fived in agreement.

“If you’d follow me, then,” Derek replied, leading the way to the actual examination room and smiling to himself when he could hear Kira hissing “ _Dildo_? Really? How old are you, 12!?” under her breath.

After Derek had drawn some blood, gotten Stiles weighed and measured, lectured him on being just a tad bit underweight, dropped a whole bunch of pampleths into a seriously nodding Scott and Kira’s hands about proper nutrition, and listened to his heartbeat, he gestured for Stiles to head over to the examination table.

While Stiles got comfortable Derek prepared the specially made for supernatural pregnancies ultrasound machine, his pride and joy that he’d purchased two years ago and that he would still be paying off by the time his great-great-grand-cubs went to college.

“Fair warning, Dude,” Stiles said when Derek gently pressed the probe against Stiles’ still-flat belly, his head cocked to the side and worrying his lip nervously.

“Medical exams tend to make me really nervous and I babble a lot, because a part of me is always reminded of 80s exploitation-horror-porn movies about alien abductions and their wicked experiments, so if I talk too much just feel free to … oh.”

Derek glanced up from the screen where the eleven-weeks old cub had just become visible, stunned to see the soft expression on the Omega’s face.

It made something swoop deep down inside his stomach but he resolutely ignored it, turning his gaze away and smiling at the expectant parents instead.

“He’s so beautiful,” Kira whispered, grabbing Scott’s hand tightly as she glanced at the screen with teary eyes.

Scott nodded, his own eyes watery as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“She’s a bit of a blob right now, but yeah, Gremlin’s pretty awesome!” Stiles agreed after a long moment of silence and Derek smiled, looking at them to get their attention before he pointed towards the image.

“He or she looks perfeclty healthy. The heartbeat is really strong and everything is growing just as it should be. Based on my calculations you are looking at a due date of …”

“Thanksigving day. I have many opinions about that, by the way, because that’s the day that Scott and I face off in the annual Stilinski-McCall-Brohood-Pie-Eating Contest and right now I’m either looking at spending the day in agony or stuffed so full of baby that there’s no way I’ll be able to fit even one measly piece of pie in here!” Stiles declared dramatically, patting his flat stomach for good measure once Derek had removed the transducer probe.

Derek did a quick calculation, then shook his head.

“It’s November 28th, actually, which means that this year it’ll be the day after Thanksgiving. Besides, most of my first-time clients deliver up to a week after their due-date, so I’d say that you’re looking at an early December birth, realistically. But I’m afraid you’re right, at 40 weeks most Omegas can only eat little portions of food at a time because the baby takes up so much room at that point. You did your reading, I’m impressed. Now, to make my life and your life easier throughout our professional relationship, please do me a favor … stop researching.”

Derek was not overly enthusiastic about Stiles, Scott, _and_ Kira all bursting into laughter.

Stiles shook his head with an apologetic grin, his eyes sparkling mischieveously.

“Sorry man, telling me not to research is basically like telling Gremlin here to magically teleport herself out of me without any tearing, blood, or otherwise traumatizing birth-carnage that I found on Instagram. Did you know that people put videos of their c-sections on Instagram, by the way? Show someone a nipple or a nursing Omega and everyone’s calling the exorcist because _nipples_ , but torn up genitals and gaping flesh wounds is ok as long as the miracle of life is involed? I call BS on that, I’m telling you! Tell you what, I’ll still research, but I promise not to call you about my findings, alright?”

“Sure.”

Derek wasn’t buying it for even a second.

After all, he’d gotten a hysterical call from one of his patient’s Alphas over his Omega’s lack of libido as recently as two nights ago and had spent almost twenty minutes discussing a crisis that had included much too detailed statements like “The internet says he should be devouring me right now, why does he keep telling me my knot is gross and that he’ll cut it off if I ever come close to him again?!”

He sighed internally, deciding to let it go for now.

“Would you like me to print out the picture?” he asked instead and Scott and Kira nodded so enthusiatically they looked like they were in serious danger of whiplash, both grinning from ear to ear.

“Yes! Our parents would kill us if we didn’t bring them back a picture! Stiles, do you want one, too?”

“Sure thing! I’m going to go up to Jackson during lunch break next week, slap it on his desk and tell him that I’ve been more productive today growing little Gremlin than he’s been all month!”

“Whatever makes you happy, Stiles,” Kira sing-songed and Derek dutifully didn’t ask as he printed out multiple copies.

In the waiting area, Erica was playing Gummy Drops on her phone and Derek possibly loved her just a little for not bailing on him and leaving him with the insurance stuff.

As Scott and Kira started filling in their insurance information Derek motioned for Stiles to join him in his office for a short talk, still feeling a bit unsettled with the information he had received earlier.

“What’s up?” Stiles asked after he’d shut the door behind him, grimacing a little when his eyes caught on the trashcan in the corner.

Derek pinched the bridge of his nose, wondering how to word his concerns.

“Listen … I realize that our first impression of each other was a bit … uhm … unfortunate, but I want you to know that you can trust me to take this seriously. I don’t know what those bigots in Beacon Heights did to you, but whatever it was, that’s not how it’s supposed to be and I promise you that you and Kira will never be judged here.”

For a moment Stiles didn’t say anything and when he finally spoke he sounded tired, making Derek’s wolf once more bristle in anger.

“It’s not like they bad-touched me or anything, I don’t want you to think it was something like that. That last one told Scott and Kira they couldn’t come into the exam room with me and once he’d shut the door into their faces he proceeded to tell me that Scott should mate me immediately and that Kira was a pitiful excuse for an Omega because she was broken. I don’t know what else he wanted to say on the subject … I was out the door the second he insulted her, obviously.”

Derek took a deep breath, focusing very hard on keeping his claws under control as the outrage over his colleague’s abusive approach swept through him.

“I’m sorry. On behalf of my entire profession, I’m so sorry. This shouldn’t have happened. Ever!”

“You’re right. It shouldn’t have. Two thousand fucking seventeen, am I right?”

Stiles sighed, studying Derek intently before he continued speaking.

“I don’t even want to talk about this anymore, honestly, it just makes me mad and that’s not something that little Gremlin needs. I read a lot about stress hormones and what they do to a growing baby, and I’m not going to give these assholes the satisfaction of ruining even more of this whole pregnancy experience.”

Derek nodded, not sure how to reply, and Stiles squared his shoulders, angry expression morphing into determination.

“I actually have a question though. I read up on what to expect when you’re carrying a werewolf or kitsune, you know, risk of getting mauled from the inside and all that, but one of the blogs mentioned something about electricty, so I was wondering … is there any truth to that? I didn’t want to freak out Kira and Scott, but I figured hey, if there’s a chance I’m about to turn into a human light-bulb or something I should probably know about it.”

Derek shook his head, grateful for the chance to change the topic.

“First of all, werewolf cubs do not claw at their Omega parent’s ribcage. That’s a myth and I’ll gladly give you my aunt’s number. She’s human and she’s carried a couple of werewolf babies, she’d know. As far as kitsune cubs are concerned, there is, in fact, a small risk that you could have an effect on electricity close to you as you get closer to your due date and the cub grows stonger. A born kitsune would be able to counteract the effect with their own control, but there have been reports of human parents being able to turn lights or television sets on and off. Anything bigger than a television set is very, very rare, but of course we’ll be monitoring that carefully. It’s nothing you have to worry about for now, though, until the third trimester there’s no chance the cub’s powers would be strong enough to have an effect on the outside.”

“Huh. Well, I guess there’s worse things than being able to turn the television on with a flick of my finger once I’ve reached the beached whale state of pregnancy. Actually, that sounds quite appealing,” Stiles mused and Derek let out a chuckle, warmth spreading inside him when the Omega smiled back genuinely.

“So … any other questions or is that it for now?” Derek asked and Stiles shrugged, resting one hand on his abdomen.

“Not for now, no, but I’m sure I’ll come up with thousands more as this whole thing develops. After all, I’m currently responsible for keeping my best friend’s baby healthy and I’ve been shitting bricks at the thought of something happening to it because we live in a world filled with bigots and close-minded health care providers. Not literally, by the way, I’m still constipated all the way to China. Though, on second thought that sounds a lot better than having to shi… ah … _defecate_ actual bricks. Anyway, I won’t jeopardize Gremlin’s health for anything, so yeah, there’s going to be about a million questions. Eventually.”

“Fair enough,” Derek nodded and Stiles smiled, turning towards the door.

“Oh, and Derek? I’m sorry about how I treated you earlier. I just had to be sure you weren’t like _them_ , you know? I apologize if I came on a bit too strong, I just really needed to be sure on this.”

“It’s alright,” Derek said quickly, but Stiles shook his head, shoulders once more squared determinedly.

“No. I feel bad about it now. I mean, I’m an asshole by nature and if my father’s tales about pregnancy mood swings are to be believed it’s probably not going to be the last time that you’ll have to reign in your urges to strangle me with the transducer probe cable, but I deliberately provoked you and you didn’t deserve that, especially without knowing the reason. I promise you that won’t happen again.”

Derek cocked his head, considering.

“I accept your apology. I get it, trust me. I’m an Alpha working in an Omega dominated profession, I know what it’s like to be judged because of my life choices.”

“Don’t I know it,” Stiles replied, a ghost of a bitter smile on his face that spoke of just how much he understood what Derek was talking about.

There seemed to be more to the story, but Derek wasn’t going to pry.

He was a professional that way.

“November 28th? That’s the first time one of your client’s due dates falls on your birthday, right? Only Stiles,” Erica mused once Stiles, Scott, and Kira had left the office, but Derek wasn’t paying much attention, his eyes tracking Stiles all the way to the blue jeep parked at the end of the street.

It wasn’t until he turned away from the window that he noticed his eyes were once more flashing brightly, not just Alpha red but the _posturing_ kind of red.

Derek sighed loudly.

“Well … _that’s_ massively inconvenient.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up: Derek refuses to be the star of Nana Abby's romance novels because he's a professional. Stiles has his second appointment and Laura and Jordan have their baby.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya my Lovelies! Thanks for the continued support, it really fuels me! 
> 
> Just as a head's up: work stuff has me where I would estimate the next update won't be until the end of November, but I'm pretty hopeful that it won't be December :).

_4 weeks later_

Having grown up in a madhouse full of noisy children and questionably sane adults, Derek could definitely appreciate the perks of living on his own.

There were no moody teenagers to block the bathrooms for hours, no potty training accidents smeared across the walls, no screaming toddlers who really shouldn’t have skipped their naps, no lego bricks left on the floor for unsuspecting bystanders to stick their claws into, and no cousins playing their heavy metal music at ungodly volumes.

There were no uncles intent on traumatizing one for life, no oversharing aunts ready to impart exclusively unsolicitied sexual advice, no sisters bossing one around, no overprotective grandmothers shoving cookies at one at any given opportunity, and no Alpha-Mommy cuddles and Omega-Daddy snuggles whenever adult life became just a bit too overwhelming.

Derek definitely didn’t miss living in a big house with his entire family and he definitely hadn’t allowed Bernard to sleep in his bed because he got lonely at night without the sounds of his family’s heartbeats lulling him to sleep.

Nope, he absolutely had not.

“The absolutely best thing about living alone, however, is that no one can check your google search history … or accidentally happen upon a tab for sparkly pink knotting dildos that I really shouldn’t have forgotten to close. In my defense, it could have been Cora. How was I supposed to know she’d recently developed a deep-seated hatred for anything pink?” Derek told his puppy the night before Stiles’ second appointment, slightly sharpened claws scratching behind Bernard’s ear.

Bernard whuffed happily, his tail thumping on the mattress of Derek’s kingsize bed and looking entirely non-judgmental.

“Not that they gave me crap about the dildo, of course. I’m pretty sure one of the first things I’ve ever heard Peter say was “I have a prostate, I should use it,” so it’s not like my family believes that wanting to feel good is a threat to your Alphahood. No, they went on, and on, and _on_ about the fact that it was pink, but if I’d ordered it in black it would have been like 20 bucks more expensive! I was just being practical, the mocking was entirely unjustified.”

Bernard whuffed again, indicating that he, too, felt that Derek’s sisters were a pain in the ass.

Derek chuckled but his smile disappeared from his lips when he took another look at his laptop, currently propped up on his lap and displaying his shameful googling to the world.

_How to be professional while being attracted to your client._

_Is it ok for an Alpha to ask out an Omega who’s just given birth?_

_Is there something wrong with me because my inner Alpha is not put off by the scent of another Alpha’s unborn cub in my Omega?_

_Is it still politically correct to say ‘my Omega’?_

_Anticucho recipe_

_Is cow’s heart good for puppies?_

_Are ‘mates’ real?_

_Am I going insane?_

Derek sighed again, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

“The thing is this,” he told his puppy, choosing to believe that the dog’s undivided attention meant that he was, in fact, listening attentively and not shamelessly begging for belly rubs.

“If we’d met under different circumstances I maybe would have asked for his number. I wouldn’t have taken him home or anything, because I really don’t do that sort of thing, but I would have probably asked for his number.”

Bernard huffed and Derek winced, reconsidering.

“You’re right, that was slut-shamy. There’s nothing wrong with taking an Omega or Alpha home if both are of age, want to, are sober enough to properly consent, and still remember how to work a condom. Not that that’s anything you’ll ever have to worry about, buddy, because you’re getting neutered as soon as you hit doggy-puberty. Yeah I know, don’t give me that look. It’s for the best, really – I don’t want you to get hit by a car while you’re roaming around for a dog in heat. Anyways, the point is, I would have very likely asked for Stiles’ number, because he smells really, _really_ good … that’s kind of weird, you know, how good he smells to me? He shouldn’t, really, he’s carrying another Alpha’s cub, after all. He still does though and the fact that it doesn’t even bother me one bit either means that biology books and the law system lied to us for generations and all that “He was just marking his territory, killing that other Alpha was totally natural” defense-crap is utter bullshit … or he might actually be _the one_ for me.”

Bernard let out a grunt that Derek interpreted as a snort and he chuckled, scratching between the puppy’s ears again.

“I know, I know. I don’t think it’s option number two either. Of course I’ve never _ever_ unintentionally flashed my eyes at at Omega in that context before, so it _could_ mean something … but that still doesn’t mean I actually know him. Hell, he spent most of the first time we met glaring at me in disgust, which, all things considered, is _really_ not the stuff romance is made of.”

He paused, considering.

“Granted, if he’d started talking to me at a bar I would have _definitely_ asked for his number, because I don’t think I’ve ever met someone I’m not related to who’s so frank and unashamed about their politics in a way I actually agree with … but I still don’t really know-know him, you know? That seems counterproductive to planning your happily ever after, don’t you think? Besides, I’m way too old to be infatuated with someone after one meeting. This is real life and not one of Nana Abby’s trashy novels.”

Bernard whuffed, clearly in agreement.

Derek nodded, wincing when he remembered his Nana’s reading habits.

The thing was, Derek was _definitely_ not the star of one of Nana Abby’s not-so-secretly hidden trashy paperback romance novels.

He knew that for a fact, his wisdom gleaned from one rather traumatizing game of hide-and-seek that had ended up with him and Laura stumbling over Nana Abby’s secret collection in the back of her closet when he’d been ten and Laura had been twelve.

Back then, Nana Abby had owned 472 books, which Derek knew because he and Laura had counted all of them, barely able to stifle their helpless giggles at pictures of strapping Alphas with muscular chests or voluptuous bosoms and scantily clad Omegas with wide eyes, parted lips, shapely hips, and rounded midsections … placed in front of colorful backgrounds depicting the Wild West, castles, farms, churches, or literally every other setting imaginable for a tragic romance filled with sensuous sexual encounters, questionable metaphors, and horrid alliterations.

To this day Derek remembered some of the titles, his adult self shuddering just as violently as his innocent, pre-pubescent self staring at literary masterpieces such as _The Knot of Love_ , _Lady in Heat_ , _The Alpha’s Groom_ , _Truly Madly Omega,_ _The Very Virile Viking Alpha_ , _Savage Slick,_ and _Gentlemen Prefer Omegas_.

They had only managed to really skim through about twenty before Talia had caught them and unceremoniously put them in time-out for snooping – or maybe because she herself couldn’t stomach the literary tastes of her Omega mother, Derek had never been certain.

However, he clearly remembered that there had been some common themes in the books to traumatize a young, hopeful Alpha for life.

For instance, an Omega’s happiness hinged upon the circumference of their Alpha’s knot, an Alpha was not even a little bit expected to stay in control in the presence of an Omega going through heat, there was no such thing as bad sex, everybody could go at any time, comfortable but secret enough places for a dalliance were conveniently located at every corner, refractory periods were a myth, and no one _ever_ used protection, as evidenced by the plethora of swollen bellies on the covers.

Most importantly, there was _the one_ out there, a true mate who you could only ever hope to meet if the stars aligned and fate was on your side … or in 457 other varieties that Derek hadn’t managed to read through before they’d been caught.

Last but not least, there was _pining_ … stomach-turning, nauseating pining.

Derek was neither a virile Viking nor into savagery in general.

He was also very much in control of his urges and not at all interested in becoming a sex offender, he was extensively educated about birth control, and he could definitely remember one or two or ten very awkward intimate encounters that had taught him a lot about communication and also that sometimes two people simply weren’t sexually compatible.

Finally, he was emphatically _not_ pining.

He wasn’t ... not really, anyway.

Sure, he was attracted to the Omega, but he was a big boy and a professional.

He could handle this.

Granted, it had never happened to him before, but he figured he’d been more than overdue for an awkward situation like that, especially since him being driven wild with lust over an Omega’s display of fertility and trying to steal them had been and continued to be one of the townspeople’s most favorite prejudices against him and his practice.

He was going to be very professional about it though.

Stiles was snarky, intelligent, passionate, and clearly the most loyal friend in the entire history of friendship, considering he was willing to go through a surrogate pregnancy for his best friend that, while technically not high-risk, wouldn’t be a walk in the park for a human if the cub really did turn out to be half-Kitsune.

He was everything that Derek had ever wanted in an Omega, essentially, but he was also pregnant with a child that wasn’t biologically his and that he’d have to give up after birth – even though his body would spend the next months flooding him with hormones to indicate the contrary.

Therefore, Derek was going to keep his shit together and not make the complicated situation even more difficult for everyone involved.

“Did I maybe have a dream the other day about Stiles being all big and round with _my_ cub, dressed in a frilly nightshirt and me looming over him in a knight’s uniform like we were the stars of _The Maiden and the Knight of Knotting_? Yes. Yes, I did. You know what, though? I’m not going to feel ashamed, because even though asleep-me seems to have some pretty disturbing role play fetishes, awake-me is professional and understands that the cub inside Stiles was not put there by me in a night of depraved, devastatingly devoted desire, but by another Alpha. Oh please, stop with the judgy eyes, it’s not my fault that alliterations are so important to cringe-worthy romances.”

Derek smiled, retracting his claws so he could rub Bernard’s soft belly in wide circles, the puppy’s very much judgmental expression giving way to pure bliss.

“Besides,” Derek continued, looking back to his computer thoughtfully.

“He’s probably not half as awesome as my memory’s made him out to be and the fact that my eyes flashed probably doesn’t mean anything. He’ll come to his appointment tomorrow, I’ll realize that he’s actually not all that great, and that’ll be that. A good thing, too, because writing your wedding vows based on one whiff of an alluring scent is generally frowned upon among circles of people who actually use their brain. Also – and I really can’t stress this enough – I’m _not_ the star in one of Nana’s trashy romance novels!”

Bernard let out a happy little yip, encouraging Derek to rub a bit more, and Derek was happy to do so.

“After all, it’s not like I don’t have any actual things to worry about – one of them being _you_ , little buddy, or rather, the pair of socks I threw out yesterday because you cannot keep your teeth to yourself. I’m not made out of cash, you know, eventually it’s going to add up.”

Bernard lifted his head regally and flicked his tongue across Derek’s chin, stretching until one paw was close enough to nudge against Derek’s free hand, which he’d been resting on his stomach.

Derek looked down at his puppy’s attempts to hold hands with raised eyebrows, barely able to keep from laughing.

“I honestly can’t tell if that’s supposed to be an apology or if you’re trying to be ridiculously cute. I’ll have you know that I grew up with having babies around me pretty much constantly, I’m immune to your charms!”

Bernard wiggled closer in response, his already impressively large head softly bumping against Derek’s side and causing one of his ears to flop over comically, tongue lolling out as he panted happily.

“Ridiculous,” Derek told his puppy, but he was full on smiling now, wondering if the puppy understood that he needed comfort or if he was just acting on instinct.

“Your insistent attempts to destroy my shoes and socks aside, I’ve had to weasel out of Nana Greta _and_ Nana Abby teaming up to set me up on a blind date three times in the past two weeks alone. They’re both completely in love with the new Omega who’s just started volunteering at the senior citizen’s center; you’d think _they_ are the ones who want to date him.”

He shook his head, voice going higher to imitate Nana Greta.

“He works in internet security Derek! He’s smart _and_ he works from home a lot, Derek! He makes good money and wouldn’t be dependent on you, but he would still have enough time to carry and raise your cubs, Derek! He’s got very nice hips and you were a big baby, so your cubs would probably be gigantic, too, and he’s the perfect man for the job, Derek!”

Bernard let out what sounded suspiciously like a snort and Derek nodded, completely in agreement.

“I know, right? Poor guy probably has no idea that my Nanas are imagining him pregnant and barefoot at the workplace every time Nana Greta wins at bingo. Then again, it’s _them_ , so they’ve probably told him all about it already … another reason to keep trying to get out of that date, don’t you think?”

This time, Bernard just snored and Derek tucked his floppy ear back in place affectionately, deliberating for a moment before he placed the laptop on his nightstand, turned off the light, and stretched out himself, careful not to jostle the sleeping puppy too much.

It wasn’t all that late yet, but he had a full day of appointments tomorrow, including not just Stiles but also Jordan, who was two days overdue and terrorizing the village.

That meant he would also have to counsel his anxiety-riddled big sister, who’d called him five times within the past 24 hours and was slowly but surely on her way to losing the last threads of her sanity.

“Baby steps,” Derek murmured, his eyes growing heavy and then finally falling shut as he allowed the puppy’s heartbeat to lull him to sleep.

 

=====================

 

“I. Hate. Everything!” Jordan wheezed when he waddled into the office, looking and sounding like he did, in fact, mean every word.

“Everything! Especially your sister’s damn inflated knot! Never again, you hear me Laura? Never! I don’t even care if you do that thing with your tongue in my …”

“You may not care, but I do, please, dear god, stop!” Derek interrupted hastily.

He reached out a hand to offer Jordan assistance as he hefted himself onto the examination table, pulling it back just in time to avoid being hit.

“You know what, I’ll tell you _everything_! In great detail! And you’ll deserve it, because damn it Derek, I’ve tried everything you said to try to finally coax this devil brat out, but she’s still acting like my body is her castle and refusing to cooperate! I trusted you Derek and you betrayed my trust, so now I will tell you all about that time Laura bought a remote-controlled vibrating knotting-strap on, so we could role play me being the Alpha and her taking my big, fat …”

“Jordan! Do you want me to bring you a cookie? With marshmallows?” Laura screeched, looking like she wanted to escape the room desperately and Jordan huffed, partly in indignation and partly because he’d finally managed to lower himself into a horizontal position.

“Marshmallows _and_ cream cheese!” he grumbled and Laura all but fled from the room, leaving Derek to shake his head and trying his hardest to reign in his judgment.

Going by Jordan’s petulant expression it wasn’t working one tiny bit.

“You know, Derek, you’re looking more judgmental right now than old Mrs. Sutherland from across the hall who’s still scandalized that Laura moved in with me even though we haven’t signed any mating papers yet. It’s not a good look on you dear boy, you’ll get wrinkles before your time.”

Derek snorted, fighting and losing his battle against giving Jordan yet another lecture on unnecessary weight gain.

“You are only five years older than I am, stop playing the benevolent wise old man card! Besides, it is literally my job to judge your life-choices right now and I think I’m entitled to a bit of grumpiness, considering you and Laura have cheated on my rules behind my back whenever the opportunity presented itself.”

“To be fair though,” Jordan mused, resting his hand on his stomach with a wince when the baby kicked, “your Nana Abby and her baking have been very willing accomplices in that particular endeavor. I googled, by the way. I might have gained a little bit more than is recommended, but I talked to one of our dispatch colleagues a while back – you remember her, the Hecatoncheires who had the octuplet-litter two years ago – and she said that you were never as strict with her about her little bit of extra-weight as you are with me. That means I’m getting the family extra special treatment. Am I right or am I right?”

“Brianna has ten arms and she threatened to strangle me with all of them if I didn’t get those babies out of her right this second during the delivery. I had to be on my guard at all times, so you can’t really compare your case to hers,” Derek said grumpily, not ready to admit that yes, the fact that Jordan was carrying _Laura_ ’s cub might have influenced his hyper-vigilant approach to the Omega’s first pregnancy, and yes, he was aware that the entire family was aware of it.

“Seriously though, Derek,” Jordan continued, wincing once more when the baby delivered another kick into its seriously cramped living quarters, “I’m at the end of my wits here, I need her to come out of me already or else I might go crazy … crazier than I already am and believe me, even _I_ am terrified of that at this point!”

Derek nodded sympathetically, seriously fearing that possibility himself.

His hands were gentle but sure as he checked the baby’s position and he nodded in satisfaction when he found the cub head downward and, for all intents and purposes, ready to start this show.

“If you haven’t gone into labor by Sunday I’m going to go ahead and induce you, I promise,” he said, smiling apologetically when Jordan muttered, “Three more days, are you _kidding_ me?”

Before Derek could answer Laura stumbled back into the room, arms filled with all kinds of cookies from Erica’s secret stash and a large coffee-mug for herself.

“Here you go, light of my life,” she said, thrusting the cookies at Jordan like they were a life raft.

Derek couldn’t help but smile when Jordan made a grab for the cookies with one hand and a grab for Laura’s collar with the other, pulling her down and whispering, “I know I’ve been horrible to you lately, but I love you for being such an amazing provider” into her ear before capturing her lips in a kiss that Laura returned enthusiastically.

Derek’s smile vanished the moment Laura’s hands roamed down Jordan’s belly and dangerously close to inappropriate territory.

“Hey! I know I said that sex might cause you to go into labor but you’re not trying that here in my office, so stop that before I have to spray you with the hose! No seriously, _stop_!”

Laura huffed dramatically, pulling her heavily pregnant Omega up with one hand and flicking a claw against Derek’s ear with the other.

“You are no fun, baby-bro! Alright, my love, let’s ditch this joint and diligently apply ourselves to the task at hand, what do you say? I bought that cherry scented lube you like so much!”

Derek stared after them until the exam room door had closed, seriously regretting all of his life-choices.

He made a couple of notes in his chart, then looked at his watch, relieved that he had a roughly fifteen minute break before Stiles’ appointment to collect himself and be utterly professional.

He leaned back in his chair … and groaned, eyes catching on Jordan’s cell phone, which he had left next to the exam table.

Derek sighed, getting up and grabbing the phone to go after them, hoping desperately that they hadn’t already started to ‘apply themselves to their task’ in the backseat of Laura’s recently purchased mom-car.

When he walked into the waiting area he stopped in his tracks, surprised and alarmed to find that Stiles was already there and currently engaged in a heated discussion about something with Laura, both of their eyes sparkling with mirth and making Derek’s hair stand up with a sense of foreboding.

Okay, he was probably being a bit dramatic, but when Stiles pulled out his cell-phone to trade contact-information with Laura, Derek once more hated every single one of his life choices.

Meanwhile, Scott and Kira were dutifully admiring Jordan’s belly, both of their eyes wide with excitement as they rattled off questions that Jordan, whose mood seemed to have magically improved since almost getting an inappropriately public hand-job from his Alpha on Derek’s examination table, was happy to answer.

“… we decided not to find out, to preserve one of life’s last mysteries, or whatever, but all firstborns in Laura’s family have been Alpha girls, so there’s no way this baby is a boy or an Omega. Derek’s been very careful about using pronouns, of course, but he’s not fooling us for even a second! I googled and with all that chocolate and candy I’ve been craving since day one there’s no way it’s not a girl. And I haven’t had any morning sickness at all, so she’s definitely an Alpha, too.”

“Oh, that’s so exciting, congratulations! Stiles thinks Gremlin’s a girl, too, but I think we’re having a little boy. I’m not sure why, that’s just what I think. He had terrible morning sickness for about three weeks though, so we’re probably going to have a little Omega. I don’t care though, I just want him – or her – to be healthy and so far Stiles has been doing an awesome job of it!”

“Careful, I think Derek’s head is about to explode from all the professional old Omegas’ tales being thrown around in this room right now,” Stiles said drily, finally acknowledging Derek as he winked at him from over Laura’s shoulder.

Derek opened his mouth, only to close it again and shake it head.

His lips broke out into a smile almost against his will when the room erupted in good-natured chuckles.

“So, Stiles, call me when you’re ready to admit that Marvel sucks or if you ever need any advice on how to satisfy an unnatural craving from hell. I’ve been living in Twinkie-land for the past five months; I know what I’m talking about. Not _that_ kind of Twinkie, obviously, even though … oh dear god, I think Derek’s already composing his own epitaph, alright, off we go. But seriously, call me if you need anything!” Laura chirped, beaming when Stiles nodded dutifully.

Derek was a good brother, so he waited until they were out the door before he said, “You don’t have to call her, you know that, right? My sister makes friends faster than my puppy and I say that knowing my puppy is the most cuddle-addicted canine to have ever barked at the moon. Two months ago a cashier at Target complimented Jordan and her on their choice of bedding for the crib and next thing the poor kid knew he was sitting on their couch having tea and scones and being forced to watch the two hour video of Jordan’s second trimester ultrasound. He still sends them coupons via text and I’m actually not sure he realizes he doesn’t have to.”

Stiles snorted.

“I believe it. Don’t worry about it, she seems really cool and it would actually be neat to also be able to talk to someone about embarrassing pregnancy shit who isn’t emotionally invested or who hasn’t been in charge of the inner happenings of my privates!”

Derek’s brain possibly short-circuited a little bit, but he was going to be professional about it.

“Uh …” he said and Stiles’ eyes widened, hands coming up and flapping like a manic bird on speed.

“Oh god, I’m sorry, that came out wrong! I … uh … my, are those new cookies, the last batch was delicious, I think I’ll have some, I promise not to barf on you this time, there’s been no barfing for like three weeks, so really, all the cookies for Stiles!” 

“Stiles …” Scott groaned, looking endearingly earnest in his disapproval, and Kira shot Derek an apologetic grin, even though she also looked like she could barely keep her laughter in.

Derek took a deep breath, taking the opportunity to examine the pregnant Omega’s appearance in more detail, now that he was busily stuffing his face with Nana Abby’s fresh batch of Cherry Chocolate Chip cookies.

His face had lost the gaunt edges and somewhat sickly pallor that weeks of morning sickness had given him, replaced by a rosy-looking glow.

He also had just a bit more meat on his bones to make him look well cared for and healthy, maybe even just the tiniest hint of chubby to the untrained eye.

He’d obviously decided to let his hair grow out a bit, too, the strands artfully mussed and giving him a look of perpetual bedhead.

Derek would have been surprised how much longer it was compared to a month before if he hadn’t been familiar with the hormonal changes pregnancy brought on in an Omega’s body.

He smelled good, too, relaxed, content, and healthy, and Derek was just going to stop smelling him now, because his memory had been entirely correct and the Omega still smelled incredibly appealing, even though the other Alpha’s cub’s scent was even stronger than last time.

Most reassuringly, Derek was able to hear the cub’s heartbeat clearly, happily thumping along slightly out of rhythm to Stiles’ own, a bit more fast-paced than normal and thus indicative of the cub’s shifter-lineage.

Derek cleared his throat and nodded in approval, motioning for the three of them to follow him into his office and biting his lip in amusement when Stiles sneakily snuck in three more cookies.

“I smell coffee,” Stiles said the moment Derek had sat down, looking longingly towards the door.

Derek, who knew that Erica was currently sitting on the porch outside the building to enjoy her mid-afternoon-break White Chocolate-Raspberry-Macchiato-Latte that Boyd brought her every other day from the café, huffed in surprise.

“That’s … quite impressive for a human Omega’s sense of smell, even while pregnant,” he said and Stiles groaned, patting his belly in mock-disapproval.

“Seriously, I don’t know how you guys stand it. I fully blame Gremlin’s wolfiness for enhancing my sniffer-powers even more than is clearly bearable for a pregnant Omega! The other day I visited my parents and I could _definitely_ smell what had transpired on that couch just a couple of hours earlier. My _parents,_ Derek, that’s information that nobody needs!” ~~~~

Scott nodded, his grimace equaling Stiles’ and looking like he was reliving a similar personal nightmare.

“To be fair though, I consider it my kid’s form of payback for what Uncle Stiles subjected me to during our teenage years! After I got turned I used to be able to smell spunk and horniness on him like, _all the time,_ and I couldn’t say anything because we’re bros but _man_ , some of the stuff he gets off to I really didn’t want to know anything abo…”

“And neither does Derek, obviously!” Stiles cut in quickly, giving Scott a meaningful look before he turned back towards the other Alpha and gestured to his shirt with a grimace.

“In other news, I can no longer fit into my favorite Avengers shirt and it pains my soul,” he reported darkly, pointing to his sides where the admittedly too small shirt was stretched the tightest.

Scott cleared his throat, looking genuinely offended on behalf of his offspring.

“Dude, it was already a size too small when you bought it in eighth grade! Don’t blame my kid for this, that ratty old thing was long overdue for the garbage bin!”

“DC fans. _Figures_!” Stiles huffed, looking at Derek like he was clearly expecting backup.

Derek raised his eyebrows.

“My first crush was Wonder Woman, don’t look at me. Besides, Superman’s kind of awesome, don’t you think?”

Stiles scoffed, looking wounded.

“Meh. Too overrated. Nice butt, I’ll give you that, but all overall, who needs Superman when you can have Wolverine. Besides, Scotty my man, you’ve also packed on the pregnancy sympathy pounds, so as far as I’m concerned your kid’s equally to blame for all of this.”

“Dude! Don’t body-shame me or I’ll call Lydia and you’ll have to sit through the power-point presentation again! Also, I haven’t just been packing on the pounds, I’ve been growing my Dad-Bod!” Scott replied proudly, grasping Kira’s hand when the female Omega smiled happily.

“That’s true! I’ve been calling him Daddy, lately, it really …”

“Careful! Impressionable baby ears present!” Stiles interrupted her and Derek did a double take at the familiar wording, staring at Stiles in a way that he hoped conveyed professionalism and not his inner wolf’s excited yipping of _Speaks Like Family! Smells Like Family! Smells Like Mine! Must Mate! Now!_

Derek’s wolf was clearly a deranged lusty little fucker and could go take a cold shower or something.

Stiles cocked his head, eyebrows rising, and Derek quickly looked down at his chart, busying himself with writing down a couple of notes.

“Gaining weight is completely normal at this stage of the pregnancy. How has your nausea been lately?” Derek asked, pen poised over Stiles’ file.

Stiles grinned, looking relieved.

“Went away about a week after we first came to your office. Thank god, I had actually forgotten what curly fries taste like!”

“Those are no longer two thirds of your diet, I hope, they’re really not good for you and they’re bound to start giving you heartburn if you haven’t noticed that already.”

“Oh believe me, I’ve noticed. Don’t worry though, Kira and Scott have religiously memorized the pamphlets you gave them last time and I’m starting to run out of space in the fridge because they keep stopping by with containers filled with all kinds of healthy things. Fun fact, did you know that kale is incredibly overrated _and_ makes you gassy as hell? Ask Scott, I think he’s still traumatized from our last mario-kart bro-time event.”

“I figured it was pregnancy related so I didn’t judge, but I died a little that day,” Scott said gravely.

Derek exchanged an amused look with Kira when the two men nodded at each other, looking like they’d shared a profound bonding moment.

“Speaking of pregnancy-related … do you think we could take a look at the baby?” Kira asked, her eyes sparkling with affection rather than anxiety, and Derek nodded immediately, still a little amazed at how easy-going both Scott and Kira seemed to be about the entire surrogacy situation.

“If you don’t have any further questions at this point, sure,” Derek said easily, leading the way into the examination room.

After he’d once more checked Stiles’ pulse, blood-pressure, and weight, Derek gestured for him to lie down on the examination table, rubbing his hands to warm them up a little before he carefully felt Stiles’ slightly swollen belly, the Omega’s stretched skin smooth under his fingers.

“Have you been experiencing some pains here?” he asked and Stiles nodded, fingers tapping an idle rhythm close to where Derek’s own fingers were examining.

“Yeah, a little. I googled though, seemed like it wasn’t anything to worry about. Yeah I know, no googling, but this time I felt it was justified. Round ligaments, right?”

“Correct. It’s normal,” Derek assured him, choosing to ignore Stiles’ google-fu as he prepared the ultrasound.

When the sound of the cub’s heartbeat filled the air Stiles relaxed visibly, watching Derek point out the child’s growing limbs with fascination.

“Guys, did you know that even though Gremlin’s ears are now sitting properly on the side of her head they actually used to be in her neck? Pretty random, right? Guys? Guys? Seriously? Are you crying on me right now?”

“’m not crying,” Scott protested immediately, his voice stuffy.

Next to him, Kira’s smile was decidedly wobbly as she whispered, “He’s even cuter than last time!”

“They are going to love this kid like crazy, but man, they are going to be total push-overs. I swear, they both cried when I threw up for the first time and not in emphatic misery, oh no, those were happy tears because it was the miracle of life, or whatever. Seriously, you know your friendship can withstand everything if you’ve ever spent half a day hanging over a toilet retching your guts out while your best friend was bawling in a corner and composing poems about the beauty of it all. I mean, can you even imagine the sonnets about Gremlin’s first poop? Push-overs. Sappy, _sappy_ push-overs!” Stiles told Derek conversationally, grinning when both Kira and Scott let out sounds of protest.

Derek turned back towards the screen to hide his smile, studying the image with a frown of concentration as he paid particular attention to the child’s developing organs and also to the electric whirring of the machine, looking for any signs of an interruption in the electric current.

“Everything looks very healthy so far and I am not detecting any interference with the ultrasound that could suggest the cub being part Kitsune. That being said, you should prepare yourself for the eventuality of the cub shifting during the full moon during the third trimester, Stiles. Not all shifter-children do, especially if there’s some human blood involved, but with both parents being shifters the likelihood of a shift goes up signficantly.”

“We read about that,” Kira said, looking at Derek with a concerned frown.

“There were some really gruesome reports on Google where the children tried to claw through the amniotic sac and …”

“I’m going to stop you and the _alternative facts_ you keep finding on Google right there!” Derek said quickly, flashing her an apologetic smile for interrupting her but not wanting her – or Stiles – to entertain these kinds of thoughts for a second longer.

“As I’ve said before, the survival instinct of a shifter-baby is very strong, even stronger than that of a human baby. Since clawing through the amniotic sac in utero would probably lead to death for both Omega parent and child, no shifter fetus outside of horror movies has ever attempted something even similar. Still,” he mused, holding up a hand when Stiles opened his mouth to interrupt.

“It _is_ true that an in-utero shift can be a bit rough on the Omega, particularly if they’re human. The cub will be very restless throughout the entire three days of the full moon and kick almost constantly, so that will probably mess with the Omega’s sleep and their mood a little. Physically, there _have_ been recorded cases of an Omega’s stomach showing visible bruises after the full-moon, _but,_ that can also happen during a non-supernatural pregnancy. Unless the pain interferes with your daily activities I do not want you to be alarmed.”

“Oh joy,” Stiles said drily, raising one eyebrow in Scott’s direction when the Alpha muttered, “I’ll bake you apology-cookies,” with a sheepish expression.

“Cookies are not going to cut it, I expect diamonds,” Stiles said matter of factly, looking so dead-serious that even Derek believed him for a second and the pregnant Omega snorted, looking back and forth between the three of them with playful resignation.

“Push-Overs. Gullible, sappy push-overs!”

Derek chuckled and Stiles smiled at him, his expression open and playful.

It did things to Derek, deep down, things that weren’t even remotely professional, but he was going to examine that particular crisis later tonight, possibly with a tub of ice-cream and a devoted puppy at his side, who’d be willing to listen to the tragedy that was Derek’s continued infatuation with the Omega.

He was about to reply when his private cell phone started ringing in his pocket, the ringtone signaling that it was Laura.

Unlike his work cell phone, Derek would have ignored the call on any normal day, but his sister did have an overdue pregnant Omega at home and he figured Stiles and company would be understanding.

“Do you mind? I’m sorry, this is my big sister, it could be about Jordan,” he asked, half-turning in his chair for the illusion of privacy and handing Stiles a tissue to clean his abdomen.

Stiles shook his head quickly, wincing alongside Scott, Kira, and Derek when Laura started screeching out of the speaker.

“Derek! I did that thing with my tongue that Jordan likes and suddenly everything tasted funny and he started screaming and now the bed is wet and gross and I think he’s in labor and I’m freaking out! What the hell am I supposed to do, where the hell are you, why is this happening so fast, what if something happens, I’m not equipped for this, when can you …”

“Laura!” Derek interrupted her calmly, pinching his nose and choosing to ingore any and all information about his sister’s tongue because he valued his sanity.

”If Jordan’s in labor it’ll be a while before anything happens, so I need you to keep him calm and keep him comfortable until I get there. You guys are going to be just fine, I just need you not to freak out right now and I’ll be there as soon as I can. Can you stay calm for me, Laura?”

“Hurry!” Laura meeped, at the same time as a loud groan echoed through the phone and Derek quickly said his goodbyes, figuring that Stiles didn’t need to listen to this kind of graphic foreshadowing this early in the game.

“Uh … good luck?” Stiles asked, pulling his shirt down and looking amused, rather than freaked out and Derek exhaled loudly, all inappropriate thoughts about the Omega currently shelved and forgotten in light of the recent development.

“Yeah, well, the first one’s always a bit exciting. Listen, I’ll head out of here and you can schedule your next appointment with Erica, alright? I’m sorry to cut this short, but I should get to Laura and Jordan’s place before my big sister goes into full panic mode. I also like to call it _My Omega Is In Labor And I, Master-Provider And Alphaest Of All Alphas With A Magnificent Knot, Just Realized That I Am More Useless Here Than A Sack of Rice With A Large Hole At The Bottom So I Will Cope With Doing Something Stupid-_ Crisis Mode.”

“Sounds fun. Does that happen a lot?”

Stiles’ eyebrows were raised as he grinned at a pale-looking Scott.

Derek sighed, with feeling.

“More often than you’d think.”

 

=================

 

“He’s beautiful, isn’t he?”

“Go to sleep,” Derek said gently, hooking an arm across Laura’s waist to steady her when she swayed back and forth like a drunken duck.

Laura rested her head against Derek’s shoulder with a goofy smile, eyes half-closed as she muttered, “He _is_ though, isn’t he?”

It was almost five in the morning and Derek was wide awake, unlike the exhausted Omega sleeping in the next room, the completely blissed-out-on-bonding-pheromones Alpha currently trying to fall asleep on his shoulder, and the nameless but peacefully sleeping newborn little Omega boy Derek had guided into the world just a little over four hours ago.

It exactly hadn’t been a surprise to Derek, who’d known about the child’s chromosomal gender and his sex for a little over six months, but the challenge of keeping it a secret when faced with Jordan and Laura’s broadly proclaimed certainty about the child’s gender and sex had been worth it for the look of total shock on their faces, followed by such blinding joy that Derek would go to his grave swearing he had _not_ teared up at the sight.

Derek was sure that his as-of-now nameless nephew was not actually the first Omega boy first-born in the Hale line, but it hadn’t happened in so long that he couldn’t wait for his grandmothers and his parent’s reactions.

Before that could happen, however, the proud new Alpha mother needed to go to sleep and so Derek carefully sat down the plate he’d been washing, gently nudging his chin against Laura’s head when she let out a little snore.

Laura and Jordan’s kitchen had been a total mess when he’d gotten there and Derek had figured he could use his post-delivery-adrenaline to make sure his sister and her boyfriend could spend the first day with their baby bonding rather than having to worry about something as mundane as housework.

Laura had shuffled into the kitchen about twenty minutes after he’d gotten started, still looking like a shell-shocked woman – albeit a very sleepy one – who couldn’t quite believe that her life had suddenly taken a turn for the infinitely better.

“Laura,” Derek said softly, chuckling when she jerked awake with a snort.

“Huh? He really is amazing, isn’t he?” she lulled, clearly half-asleep, and Derek agreed amicably, gently nudging her towards the bedroom.

The baby was sleeping in the co-sleeper attached to Jordan’s side of the bed and Derek didn’t stop Laura when she changed direction, dragging Derek by the hand until they were standing next to the co-sleeper.

“He’s so perfect Derek. How is it possible that he’s so perfect?” Laura asked, her voice still drowsy but slightly more awake as she bent over to kiss the baby’s head, running her nose along his soft baby-cheek to scent him, an instinct too hard to ignore in the immediate hours after birth.

“He’s yours, isn’t he?” Derek told her, warmth and affection blooming inside him when Laura wrapped her arms around him, her reply muffled against his shirt as she whispered, “He’s the best. They both are. God, Derek, I want to look at them forever.”

“I think that would be kind of creepy, don’t you think? Staring at people sleeping for the rest of eternity?” Derek teased her, noting with amusement that Laura had once more started snoring, her head heavy on his shoulder.

This time he simply lifted her into a cradle, carrying her over to her side of the bed and lowering her gently, careful not to jostle Jordan in the process.

“Derek?” Laura muttered, her eyes closed and almost completely asleep.

“Hmm?” he asked, pulling up the covers and draping them over her.

“Do you think I’ll be a good mom?”

Laura’s voice was barely a whisper, but Derek had heard her just fine.

He bent down to kiss her forehead, his answer a gentle whisper.

“The best, Laura. You’ll be the best mom there ever was.”

Laura’s answer was a soft snore, but her face looked relaxed now, free off the tension lines that had been etched into her features during Jordan’s labor.

“She really is going to be the best mom ever,” Derek told his nephew when he stepped over to the co-sleeper once more, just wanting to make sure the baby was happy and content and not because he was a sappy first-time uncle or anything.

“You know, I think I’m going to sleep on the couch for a little while. Your daddy is going to have to rest for a little while and I think your mommy is so high on baby-pheromones that she might accidentally burn down the kitchen and _someone_ has to make sure they get a proper breakfast tomorrow after all that hard work tonight. I’m thinking pancakes with fresh strawberries and nutella-drizzle, don’t you think? Yes, I know, you know all about that, your daddy’s been eating far too much of that stuff against my express orders. You still turned out pretty perfect though and I can’t wait for your grandparents and great-grandparents to meet you tomorrow afternoon and realize they have a new little Omega baby to spoil in the family.”

The baby snuffled in his sleep and Derek took that to mean he couldn’t wait, either, and wanted to be well rested for the occasion.

Smiling, Derek tip-toed out of the bedroom and back into the kitchen, finishing up the dishes in record-time and then collapsing onto the couch in the living room, one ear trained on the three steady heartbeats in the bedroom even as adreline finally gave way to exhaustion.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket, figuring he should let Erica know about the change of plans, only there was no Erica Reyes under his contacts, causing him to groan in exasperation as he flipped through the rest of his contact list.

**[To Goddess of the Office]: Can you reschedule my morning-appointments for the afternoon, please? Also, stop hacking into my phone to change your name, one of these days there’s going to be an emergency and I’ll have no time to go through my entire contact list first!**

**[To Derek]: Like you’ve got that many contacts to begin with ;p .**

**[To Derek]: Hey … didn’t you just deliver a baby? Who still texts with punctuations at ass-time of night after delivering a freakin’ baby?**

**[To Erica You Won’t Get a Christmas Bonus If You Mess With This Again Reyes]: The baby is fine, thank you for asking. A beautiful Omega boy, 8 pounds 7 ounces :)** **.**

**[To Erica You Won’t Get a Christmas Bonus If You Mess With This Again Reyes]: I’m staying for a while to make sure they get a proper breakfast later. I’ll be in the office around 2, probably. Do you think you can re-schedule my appointments?**

**[To Derek]: Already done! Now go to sleep you Sappy Wolf, seriously, I’m not sharing my Raspberry Mocha with you tomorrow!**

**[To Erica You Won’t Get a Christmas Bonus If You Mess With This Again Reyes]: Why are you even awake right now? I figured you’d read this around 8, at the earliest.**

**[To Derek]: Welllll … there’s this thing Boyd wanted to try and it was … energizing ;-).**

**[To Derek]: (:-0-8- < <=8 … 3x!!!!!**

**[To Derek]: Don’t worry, I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow.**

**[To Derek]: You better be asleep and not trying to ignore me, loser.**

**[To Derek]: Btw … Congratulations, Uncle Derek :)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Up: Derek runs into Stiles at the Beacon Hills' Pride Parade, Derek's Nanas make a move on the new Omega from Bingo Night (any guesses who he is, haha?), Peter plans a vasectomy party and Stiles and Derek grow closer during his third appointment.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya my lovelies.
> 
> This chapter basically only includes one of the scenes I teased in the last end-note, because I added in some backstory on society in that verse as I was editing and the word-count got away from me in a ridiculous fashion. It also changed the tone of the chapter quite a bit and I felt that including a humorous scene like the one I've planned with Peter just didn't fit anymore, hence the cut. Next chapter, though.
> 
> In the meantime, this chapter comes with a WARNING for talk of homophobia, mistreatment of Omegas and a reference to Omega Genital Mutilation (not described in graphic detail) - my version of FGM in that verse. 
> 
> I debated for a quite a while whether to put that in there or not, because this story is, first and foremost, a happy story meant to make you laugh and feel good ... however, during my long conversation with the midwife on the train last month we also spoke about the difficulties of the job and it turns out that, even though I live in 'enlightened' Northern Europe (I use air-marks because there's nothing enlightened about the rise of alt-right movements in our holier-than-though pearly white Western world), midwives have to deal with FGM a lot more often than I'd care to think about. I'm not going to reference it again from here on out, but as I said, the tone of the chapter changed so significantly with the edits that I felt it fit. 
> 
> So, just to be on the safe side, another WARNING for mention of the ABO version of FGM. 
> 
> It's towards the very end of the chapter and begins with the sentence: "Derek hadn’t needed his parents to explain to him that society at large still considered Omegas inferior" and ends with "He took a deep breath, shoulders tensing and fighting to keep his eyes hazel instead of red for the second time that day, aware that he was probably pumping out enough Alpha stress hormones to power a small army."
> 
> This is probably overkill as far as my usual warning policy goes, but the first time I really researched what FGM is - and how horrendously wide-spread it is - I cried, so I don't want to run the risk.

_3 Weeks Later_

Derek’s family had attended Beacon Hills Pride for as long as he could remember.

The parade had grown significantly over the years, ever since the LGBTQ population of Beacon Heights had become part of the festivities, with many of the smaller surrounding towns following their example.

Beacon Hills was a lot smaller than its neighboring city, but whereas Beacon Hill’s town council was equally split between liberals, moderates, and conservatives, Beacon Height’s council had long been run by a coalition of hardline conservatives and pretend-to-be-moderates conservatives. The conservative council had put so many restrictions upon the Beacon Heights Pride march that it had almost faded from existence by the time the activists had moved over to Beacon Hills.

Derek would have been the last person to claim that Beacon Hills was liberal.

He had not forgotten the years of mocking and gossiping targeted against his chosen career, and it hadn’t been that long ago that he’d last gotten a snide comment in public.

However, he had to admit that, for at least one day of the year, Beacon Hills deigned itself more progressive than its rival town, and everyone seemed to be fully on board the train to love, acceptance, and diversity.

Well … everyone except the members of the Assembly of Holy Knot Supremacy on the outskirts of town, whose church was probably called something different entirely.

Derek had never bothered to look it up, though, since Nana Greta’s description seemed fairly accurate.

After Cora had come out as homosexual a couple of years earlier, Derek’s entire family had turned from spectators into marchers, all of them proud members of the local PFLAG chapter that Derek’s nanas had founded alongside Adalynn Boyd a little over five years ago.

Boyd’s Alpha twin sister Khadra had come out just before she’d moved away for college and Body’s Omega grandmother had taken it upon herself to create an environment in Beacon Hills that would be welcoming once her grandchild returned, finding enthusiastic supporters in Derek’s own nanas.

In the years since, their combined enthusiasm hadn’t just established the PFLAG chapter but also raised quite a bit of money for many LGBTQ causes such as the Mating Rights Campaign … most of the donations secured by Peter’s gang of adorable children, who’d gone from door to door selling Nana Abby’s cookies while Peter had loomed threateningly in the background.

Greta, Abby, and Adalynn’s enthusiasm had also included matchmaking shenanigans, up to and including that one memorable day when they’d locked Cora and Khadra in the Hale house linen closet.

“They can deny it all they want, that first kiss happened in that linen closet and Nana and I take full responsibility for it!” Nana Greta whispered proudly as they waited in line for the parade to start, her expression soft with affection as she watched Cora twirl Khadra on the float.

Derek – who had it on good authority that the first kiss had actually happened quite some time before the linen closet – grinned at his Alpha grandmother good-naturedly, not willing to rid her of her misguided sense of accomplishment.

His attention drifted towards a beaming Laura, who was carrying baby Bartholomew in a sling and was proudly showing him off to everyone not quick enough to escape.

Jordan was standing right beside her, his beaming smile just as wide as his girlfriend’s, and Derek took a few subtle sniffs, nodding in approval when his nose confirmed that Jordan and his baby were perfectly healthy and happy.

“Derek! Come over here to adore my baby and stop being a creeper!” Laura called, her eyebrows rising in amusement at his failure at subtlety.

Three minutes later, Derek’s nephew was safely tucked against his chest in the baby sling, smelling like everything that was good in the world and snuffling contentedly, while his parents were off to celebrate the anniversary of their first make-out session, which had taken place during Beacon Hills’ Pride Parade exactly four years ago.

“I would say ‘who would’ve thought back then’, but honestly, no one was surprised even one tiny bit when you came along. Really, the only thing that was surprising about your parents’ decision to procreate was that they somehow managed to produce the first Omega Hale first-born in over 150 years,” Derek told his nephew, one hand cradling his soft head as he placed a light kiss on top of surprisingly curly black hair.

His family’s reaction to the child’s gender had been made up of equal parts excited screaming, crying, proud bragging, and getting the entire Senior citizen’s center drunk on a heavily spiked celebratory punch, but no one had been more excited than Peter and Zandrine’s Omega daughter Vesta, who had previously given up on more cute little Omega babies in the family after her youngest brother’s birth.

Vesta had been near inseparable from Bartholomew since his birth, which was why Derek was not surprised when his little cousin appeared at his side, looking up at him with a hopeful expression. Out of all of Peter and Zandrine’s children she had inherited the most of Peter’s features, which made her puppy-dog eyes a pretty lethal combination of cute and mischief.

“Derek? Can I hold Barty?”

Derek shook his head with an apologetic smile. His grin widened when Vesta started pouting, making her look even more like her daddy.

“Sorry Ves, he’s still pretty breakable and you’re a bit too tiny to carry him in a sling like this. You can say hi to him though, I’m sure he’d love it.”

He knelt down carefully and Vesta was immediately glued to his shoulder, peering into the sling with a disappointed frown.

“He’s asleep, Derek!” she complained and Derek chuckled, lightly stroking the baby’s back.

“Of course he is. He’s probably really exhausted from all the growing he’s been doing since he got here. You were a pretty sleepy baby, too … well, except for that one time when you were colicky. No one got any sleep in the house for two weeks. It was a special time for all of us.”

“Do you think he’s going to be colicky, too? Since he’s an Omega, like me?” Vesta worried, reaching out hesitantly to stroke the baby’s cheek.

Derek shrugged, turning towards her with a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry, even if he does it’s not going to harm him. Laura’s sanity might not survive it, but Barty is going to be fine. Being an Omega has nothing to do with it though, I promise. Cora’s an Alpha and she screamed the house down for almost three months, so it really doesn’t matter.”

Vesta cocked her head, considering.

“That’s ok then, I guess.”

She frowned, her blue eyes fixed on the sleeping baby contemplatively.

“Hey Derek? Do you think he’s going to like me?”

Derek bit the inside of his cheek, trying not to give away his sadness at the innocent question that was loaded with so much meaning.

Growing up as one of only two Omega children in a house full of Alphas, Vesta had started noticing differences between her and her siblings when she’d been very young, her curiosity giving way to insecurity as she’d gotten older.

Even though her big brother Apollo was an Omega as well, he was eleven years older than Vesta and had been away at college for two years already, leaving her as the only Omega in the Hale house who wasn’t an adult.

Derek’s family had never done things the traditional way and had never made a difference between the children or adults in the family based on their gender, but Vesta was old enough to understand that daddy only had to go away for a bit once a year, whereas mommy felt really warm and had to lie down for a couple of days every four months.

She was old enough to realize that Auntie Talia was the principal at the high school and daddy kept getting promoted at work, while Uncle Sebastian often came home upset because an Alpha colleague had been given preferential treatment at the station.

She was also old enough to start noticing that commercials on the television connected sports cars and adventure with images of rugged and bombshell Alphas and cleaning and cooking with rotund and gentle Omegas.

Finally, she’d spent the last year going to Beacon Hills Elementary with two of her siblings and there had been a very unfortunate situation during the spring semester that had left her in tears and feeling hurt for a long time after.

Peter’s kids fought like cats and dogs on a daily basis, but they also had a deep sense of loyalty and love for one another, which was why all three kids had joined forces during recess when a bully had picked a fight with Luna.

Peter’s then-eleven year old Alpha werewolf daughter had been in sixth grade at the time and most of the kids in sixth grade were between eleven and twelve years old, which was when pre-pubescent hormones first started causing brawls between the Alpha children.

Luna had unwillingly found herself at the center of a territorial dispute over the best swing on the jungle gym and when she’d started howling in fury her two little human siblings, 6-year old first-grader Ares and eight-year old third-grader Vesta, had raced to her defense.

When they’d been separated, the bully had had a bloodied nose and all three Hale children had been sent to the principal’s office, where the situation had taken a turn for the worse.

After they’d explained the reason for the commotion, the teacher who’d broken up the fight had scolded Vesta in front of everyone for fighting against an Alpha and not watching from the sidelines, as good little Omegas did.

Vesta had argued that she had every right to protect her big sister, just as her little Alpha brother, but the teacher had been unrelenting, arguing that it was completely normal for little Alphas to get into fights to test boundaries, but that it was unseemly for an Omega.

Vesta hadn’t understood the word, completely, but she’d gotten the gist of it well enough to burst into tears, just in time for her daddy to race into the office and find his little Omega girl sobbing, Luna baring her teeth angrily, and their little human brother fighting to hold back his own tears.

Peter had still been snarling hours later, Vesta tucked safely in between him and Zandrine as they’d reassured her again and again that she’d been a brave little girl, that she was amazing, and that no Alpha would ever have the right to tell her what was unseemly for an Omega or not.

Derek had stopped by with a big fluffy teddy bear that evening, watching quietly alongside the older Alphas of the family and joining them in the collective sensation of feeling more useless than an empty sack of rice as they’d watched the Omegas in the family tell Vesta about all the ‘unseemly’ things they themselves had done.

Derek’s little cousin had listened intently, hiccupping and eyes brimming with fresh tears again and again, and it had taken Apollo to Skype in and tell his baby-sister about that one time he’d gotten in big trouble for accidentally blowing up a trashcan at recess with a failed chemistry experiment for Vesta to crack her first smile of the day.

Vesta had been subdued for weeks after, and even though she’d regained her bubbly personality eventually she hadn’t forgotten, her sharp blue eyes much more attuned to social injustice than anyone in the Hale family was comfortable with at her age.

The Hale Alphas were united in their belief that Omegas were to be treated equal and they were all determined to stand up for them whenever necessary, but Derek knew they were walking a fine line between empowering Apollo and Vesta and patronizing them.

Vesta would grow up in a society where Omegas faced a lot more challenges than Alphas and she could always count on the horde of Alphas in her life to stand by her. However, the adults in the family could see how much she longed for other Omegas to face the challenges with her without needing that particular safety-net … something that – ultimately – would be more empowering for her than having to always trust that an Alpha would step in as a last resort.

She had Apollo, of course, but her big brother had been dating the same Alpha since tenth grade and Derek’s family was expecting them to get mated any day now, which would make the age gap between him and Vesta even wider at a time that she could really use the support.

Derek knew that his cousin had been feeling her big brother’s absence greatly and so he also knew that for her, the question of whether Laura’s baby-boy would like her was a lot more essential than it seemed.

He kept one hand on the baby’s head and tucked Vesta in with his other arm, making sure that she had a good view of Bartholomew’s face and his own before he answered.

“He’s going to love you. I’m sure of it. He’s really lucky to have you, too. He’s going to look up to you so much when he gets older, because he’s going to see all the cool things you do and he’s going to want to be just like you. I wanted to be just like Laura when I was little, so I’m sure he’s going to feel the same.”

“Do you really think so?” Vesta asked, and Derek gently tapped against her arm in a regular rhythm, shifting the baby to the right side of his chest so Vesta could lean her head against the other side.

Growing up human in a family of werewolves who could tell if you were lying by listening to your heartbeat had always been a source of contention in the Hale pack, and they’d finally come up with their own code of honor: a gentle tapping on a human’s arm in synch with one’s own heartbeat.

Derek had occasionally fibbed to his human dad about things like whether or not he’d done his homework or brushed his teeth all of three minutes and he wasn’t proud of it, but he’d never used the tapping gesture dishonestly.

To his knowledge, neither had anyone in the Hale pack. After all, it wasn’t just about honesty but also about respect for the humans, which had been instilled in them from the day they’d been born.

Vesta smiled, her ear pressed against his heart as he tapped, and Derek did his best to smile as well, even though he was barely able to keep his eyes hazel instead of giving in to his urge to flash them red at any potential close-minded Alpha in the vicinity.

He was an emancipated Alpha.

He was.

But the scent of a little newborn Omega baby in need of his protection in one arm and a vulnerable little Omega human who was still smelling a bit sad in the other was about all Derek’s inner wolf and Alpha could take without succumbing to the stereotype.

“Derek? Hey! Derek!”

Derek startled, his heart suddenly doing funny things for a whole other reason.

Scott McCall was headed right towards him with a big grin, followed by his wife, three humans that Derek didn’t recognize, and Stiles, who was following them at a more sedate pace and looking just as surprised as Derek felt.

Well … _surprised_ was perhaps a bit too tame a word to describe the emotions currently rushing through the Alpha.

Shell-shocked?

No … too dramatic.

Stunned?

More appropriate, given how he was well aware his mouth had dropped open and was refusing to close despite his best efforts.

Stupefied?

Possibly, because he knew that his mouth hanging open like that put his bunny teeth on display and he’d lived in the same house with Laura and Cora long enough to be adequately informed about just how stupid that could look.

Undeserving of such an onslaught on his Alphahood?

Yes, that was the term, because here he was, one big hand curled protectively around a newborn Omega baby sleeping on his chest and a human, slightly larger Omega baby snuggled against him for comfort, his biological Alpha urges to protect and provide for Omegas in need in particular and all Omegas in general currently going into overdrive … and now faced with an Omega he still liked a little too much.

Precisely, an Omega that he liked way too much and that he very determinedly didn’t _want_ to like, for reasons of professionalism and not being the biggest Alpha creeper to have ever creeped on those who’d never asked to be creeped on … despite the entire world telling them that yes, they deserved it and yes, those creepers were totally qualified to become Senators or Presidents.

 _Completely_ undeserving of such a vicious attack on his Alphahood and sanity was even more appropriate of a term, actually, because Stiles’ body had undergone a visible change in the three weeks that Derek hadn’t seen him, pushing him from “just a bit chubby” territory into the “not quite visible from space yet but definitely and unmistakably pregnant when not wearing bulky clothes” phase of the process.

His belly had rounded into a gentle curve, belly button not popped yet but still visible under the body-accentuating striped t-shirt the Omega had donned for the occasion. He’d also exchanged his normal baggy pants for a pair of tight paternity jeans, which showed off his slim hips and yes; Derek was just going to stop now.

He was.

He was going to close his mouth, he was going to smile, and he was definitely and one hundred percent going to stop thinking about how Stiles’ belly was still small enough to imagine he’d just given birth three weeks ago – say, to a baby currently snuggled against Derek’s chest – and that he was still wearing his paternity jeans because his Omega parts hadn’t shrunk back to their usual size.

Derek didn’t think he’d be too sensitive about not fitting back into his old jeans immediately after birth, but he was also experienced enough to know that even the most body-positive and secure Omegas could fall to the onslaught of hormones that came with birthing and then nurturing a newborn.

Not to mention that they were constantly faced with celebrities putting their stretchmark free, flat stomachs all over Instagram at five days post-partum, which was also the reason why Derek religiously screened the gossip magazines he allowed Erica to put into the waiting room at the practice.

Derek figured that Stiles shared such opinions, but he also didn’t think it would be completely impossible for the Omega to fear that he wasn’t losing the baby-weight fast enough … maybe even that his Alpha didn’t want him anymore.

It was ridiculous, that’s what it was, but hormones were ridiculous in general, and Derek would understand. More so, he’d be determined to prove to his Omega that he was beautiful and desirable to him in any shape and he’d use his hands, lips, and tongue to prove it.

Not his knot, obviously, Derek was a stickler for the six-weeks-no-sex rule, no matter how much his clients’ Alphas begged.

The point was, Derek could easily imagine himself putting his newborn Omega baby to sleep in his crib, sweeping Stiles up in his arms and then carrying him up to their bedroom, lying him out on the bed and proceeding to worship every inch of him, paying particularly close attention to the rounder parts and showing his gratefulness for everything the Omega had given him and more with each taste, lick, and kiss.

Derek was also going to hell, or wherever people went who entertained full-blown sexual fantasies while carrying their innocent baby nephews, who’d never asked to star in their desperate uncle’s domestic erotica.

Stiles’ surprised expression at seeing Derek had changed to a cheeky smile by the time he got into human hearing range and he waved at him with a grin, happily calling out “Derek! Such a surprise to see you here!”

“Gah,” Derek replied, because of course his torment wasn’t over yet.

 _Of course_ Stiles’ normal appealing smell had become even more appealing five weeks into his second trimester, which was when most Omegas experienced a surge in their sex-drive, many of them walking around in a state of low-key arousal for weeks on end and driving their Alphas nuts in all the good ways until their knots literally begged for mercy.

Derek had never been bothered by anyone walking into his office smelling like they were thinking about Chris Pratt in the shower, but low-key arousal on Stiles?

Not at all helping him stop either the fantasy still rolling in his head or convincing his horn dog of a wolf that no, Stiles was not interested in being provided for right here on the Pride Parade float and yes, Derek was a professional and he was going to keep his cool.

“Derek? Your heart sounds weird,” Vesta whispered, looking up at him curiously with her ear still pressed against his chest and Derek … yeah, they were going to give him his own hell.

It was a fact.

He was also going to pull himself together, because he was not the star of Nana Abby’s romance novels.

“Scott, Kira, Stiles. What a pleasant surprise! What brings you to Beacon Hills today?” Derek asked, wanting to hit himself right after because … duh.

“Pride! Obviously!” Kira chirped, throwing on arm around her husband and one arm around Stiles.

Beside them, the three humans Derek didn’t know were looking at him curiously, a blonde Omega, a red-haired Alpha, and a brown-haired Omega with a dimpled grin.

“That’s the midwife? He’s … young.”

The blonde Omega who’d spoken was looking at Derek with the most disdainful expression the Alpha had ever seen. However, his scent indicated that he was actually in quite a good mood, leading Derek to conclude it was just his default expression.

Next to the Omega, the red-haired, beautiful female Alpha scrunched her nose, eyes sharp and calculating as she looked at Derek, a finely shaped eyebrow going up when she noticed the two children he was still clutching in a tight grip.

“Yours?” she asked, in a tone that Derek couldn’t quite get a read on, and he shook his head quickly, gently nudging Vesta’s side so she’d let go of him and trying to ignore his cousin’s curious look.

“This is my cousin Vesta and this is my newborn nephew Bartholomew … Laura’s kid.” he clarified, a part of him wondering if he was still reeking of Eau D’Helplessly in Love, because the blonde Omega and the red-haired Alpha were once more staring at him critically.

“Oh … but he’s an Omega! How exciting! They were so sure they were having a little Alpha girl, weren’t they?” Kira exclaimed, beaming, and Derek shrugged, standing up carefully and holding his breath when Bartholomew let out a little meep in his sleep.

“Yeah, well, my big sister has always been the most contrary of the bunch. She’s been bragging about him all over town and my nanas got the entire senior citizens center drunk to celebrate. You could say my family’s been mildly excited about this turn of events.”

“That’s so wonderful! I hope our baby turns out to be an Omega! I’d be killing it as an Omega’s daddy! I’d be all protective and I’d be like “Tell that Alpha to respect you or I’ll have their knot on a silver platter!” It would be awesome!”

“Ahem … as the Omega’s future godfather I feel it is my duty to inform you that no way are you traumatizing Gremlin’s suitors! She’ll be kick-ass, she can do it herself!” Stiles interjected, patting his belly poignantly.

“Of course he’ll be kick-ass!” Kira grinned, resting her own hand next to Stiles’ with a besotted expression.

“Speaking of kicking …” Scott said, looking worried.

“Is it normal that he isn’t kicking yet? I was googling and …”

“The baby’s kicking around all the time, it’s just not big enough yet to be able to fully make an impact. Give it a couple more weeks – with the first baby it’s difficult to recognize the sensation and it takes many Omegas until week 22 or 23 to actually notice it. Also, what did I say about googling?”

Derek tried to look at Scott sternly, but Bartholomew chose that particular moment to start meeping with more intent, effectively stopping Derek from slipping into lecture mode.

“Ssssshhh, I know, I know. Your daddy’s going to be back any minute now, don’t cry,” he soothed, rocking the baby expertly and feeling quite a bit smug when Bartholomew went back to sleep, wailing-crisis momentarily suspended.

“House full of babies, you learn a few things,” he explained when he looked back up to find himself once more the center of attention.

“You like kids?” the third stranger asked, an Omega of Hawaiian heritage who was looking at him curiously.

“Wouldn’t have chosen my profession if I didn’t,” Derek said simply, head turning towards the red-haired Alpha when she let out a contemplative sound.

“Ha. Alright then,” she said and the blonde Omega next to her nodded with a huff, indicating that he, too, was okay with whatever the hell the Alpha was talking about, but was one hundred percent less enthusiastic about it.

At least.

“Lydia!” Stiles hissed, looking at her pointedly, but the Alpha ignored him in favor of inspecting her nails, holding them up to display all colors of the rainbow.

“I’m Lydia Martin, by the way. Stiles and I went to school together, I’ve known him since the sandbox, essentially. This is my mate Jackson, he works at the station with Stiles.”

“Don’t remind me!” Jackson groaned and Derek vaguely remembered a throw-away comment Stiles had made during their first appointment, wondering if he had, in fact, gone through with slapping the picture of the ultrasound on the other Omega’s desk.

“Jackson’s been rather unimpressed with the grittier elements of this pregnancy so far,” Stiles explained, grinning mischievously when Jackson rolled his eyes.

“That one time, during my first trimester, I was so horribly nauseous that I couldn’t make it to the bathroom in time and I ended up barfing all over his Prada shoes. I felt a bit bad about that and offered to buy him new ones, but then he told me how much they cost and I just got him an apology cookie instead and told _Lydia_ to buy him new ones. She just made partner at her law-firm after only working there for two months, she’s got the money,” Stiles said, looking like he was teasing but sounding like he was actually quite proud of his friend’s accomplishments.

“I’ve tried to get reassigned to a different desk for months now, but they won’t let me because of some bullshit about the only two Omega deputies having to stick together. Ha! They just don’t want to be in the bio hazard zone,” Jackson grumbled and Stiles snorted loudly.

“I did puke a lot those first couple of weeks,” the pregnant Omega admitted, rubbing his belly for emphasis.

“Now it’s just the farting, but it’s getting better. I think.”

“Ha!” Jackson said distastefully, wincing when the third Omega punched his arm.

“Don’t listen to him, he’s been glaring at anybody who dares to come close to Stiles for the past months because he’s afraid they’re going to take advantage of him, now that he smells so good and fertile. He’s an overprotective marshmallow; he just likes to pretend he isn’t. My name’s Danny by the way. I was going to wait until Stiles introduced me, but I gave up on it somewhere between the story about puking and the story about farting. I’ve heard a lot about you, by the way, your Nana Greta’s been really …”

“Danny!”

Derek could only watch in stunned bewilderment as his nanas appeared out of thin air and threw their arms around Danny, getting glitter all over him in the process.

“How wonderful to see you here! We missed you at bingo last week, I hope you weren’t ill, my dear boy?” Nana Abby exclaimed concernedly and Danny shook his head quickly, mouth quirking up with a sheepish smile.

“Oh goodness, no, no. I wasn’t ill, I just had some heat business to attend to.”

“Oh! Okay then, good, we were worried about you. Jeesh, I do _not_ miss those, I must say! Menopause is horrible as you go through it, but afterwards you realize just how nice it is not to have to worry about having more kids while you’re already getting called to the principal’s office three times a week because your son hatched another plan that spectacularly went wrong and almost blew up the school. We love that boy, bless his heart, but we were so grateful when he met his Omega and started channeling all of this energy into baby making rather than going for world domination. It was a coin-toss, really. But hey, that means you’ve got four months to enjoy your life, don’t you! Speaking of enjoyment …” Nana Abby winked and Derek froze, realization hitting him like a bucket of cold water.

“Oh don’t make the boy uncomfortable, my beloved, I’m sure he doesn’t want to talk heats with old hens like us! Say, Danny-dearest, have you met our grandson Derek?”

Subtlety, thy name was neither Abby nor Greta Hale and Derek did not deserve any of this.

Danny gave him a sympathetic, dimpled smile and Derek tried to smile back, but he just couldn’t, the words _Not now, not now, please, Nana, not in front of Stiles!_ flashing inside his head like a neon sign.

“I just did, actually! I’ve heard so much about him from both you two and my ex-boyfriend Stiles! Derek is Stiles’ midwife and I hear he’s every bit as passionate about his work as you’ve told me he is!”

Danny smiled at Derek’s nanas, looking a bit apologetic, and it took Derek’s brain three tries to parse out why, the realization finally hitting him like a high-speed-train.

Thankfully, Nana Greta was right there with him, her startled, “Oh!” drowning out anything Derek would have had to say on the subject.

“Oh! My goodness we … oh my goodness, I’m so sorry! Danny, darling, we must have been making you uncomfortable for weeks, I’m so sorry! If we’d realized you were gay we wouldn’t have …”

“Talked up your grandson like he was the greatest catch in the history of Alphahood?” Danny asked kindly, dimpled smile returning full force when he nodded towards Derek.

“Don’t worry, I know you wouldn’t have, I hear you defending your gay granddaughter all the time. It’s just not something I advertise at the center, you know? I figured it would be easier to keep my sexuality to myself … people over here aren’t quite as uptight about that stuff as the folks in Beacon Heights, but I hear some of the Alphas who also visit the Cigar Club can be pretty judgmental.”

He turned towards Derek, still grinning.

“Your nanas really, _really_ love you, by the way. If I was even a little bit straight I’d have totally taken you off their hands, you sound like an amazing guy. I’m kind of glad the secret is out now, though. They’ve kept it PG so far, but I was expecting them to start gushing about your knot any day now to finally convince me to go out with you and _that_ would have been all kinds of awkward.”

Derek smiled.

He tried to, at least. He would have succeeded, too, if it hadn’t been for his heart slowly breaking inside his chest over the realization that the Omega he’d been not-pining for from afar for the last seven weeks wasn’t into Alphas … and therefore not into Derek.

It was considered bad taste for unrelated weres of different packs to listen in to each other’s heartbeats and Scott didn’t look like he’d noticed anything out of the ordinary, but Derek could tell the exact moment his grandmothers realized he was experiencing a crisis of major proportions, their eyes wide with concern when both whipped their head towards him at the same time.

Beside him, Vesta slipped her little hand into his and Derek gripped back tightly, muttering, “Uhm,” because he was aware he’d been silent for too long and should probably at least say thank you, but having no idea what would actually come out if he dared to speak.

“Stiles!”

Derek had never been more relieved to hear the dulcet sound of Laura screeching excitedly, only to promptly reconsider his feelings when Laura marched past him with long strides, grabbed Stiles’ hand, and literally pulled him over to where Derek was standing, pointing at baby Bartholomew in excitement.

“Here he is! His photos don’t do him justice, don’t you think?”

Stiles admired the baby dutifully, his eyes sparkling with humor when he winked at Derek.

“I’ve had some pregnancy insomnia lately and your sister apparently does most of the nightly feedings, so we’ve actually chatted a little bit. She still doesn’t understand that Marvel rules, but I’m willing to blame that on her sleep-deprivation.”

Laura snorted.

“Anyway, all those late-night bonding moments and you still didn’t tell me I’d see you here!” she mock-complained, her eyes briefly flitting towards Stiles’ pink, purple, and blue shirt.

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised though … are you going to march with the Bisexual Bikers or are you just going with the flow?”

Before Stiles had any chance to answer, Scott let out a scandalized sound, looking like he was seriously considering whether Laura had gone insane.

“Bikers? I wouldn’t have let him on a motorcycle when he wasn’t pregnant and I sure as hell wouldn’t allow him to go anywhere near it while carrying our cub! Not just for my cub, either, I’d rather not go through life bro-less, thank you very much!”

Stiles huffed.

“I’ll have you know that I rode a bike once and it didn’t even fall on me before I could get on it one tiny bit.”

He turned towards Laura, shrugging.

“I figured I was just going to go solo this year. I mean, a bisexual deputy Omega working in an Alpha-dominated profession while surrogate-pregnant with the love child of a kitsune and a werewolf? Seriously, I should get my own float!”

“You’re going with us, then!” Laura decided easily, waving her arms generously towards Stiles’ friends.

“The same goes for you … only if you want to, of course, but you’d be fools to miss it! Last year my nanas climbed on the PFLAG float, got really drunk and then tried to moon everybody. They promised to keep their pants on this year, but I’m pretty sure Nana Greta’s already sampled the unicorn schnapps they were handing out over at the refreshment station!”

“Sure … I mean … if that’s ok with you, Derek? Considering I’m your client? I don’t want to impose on your private time,” Stiles said easily, looking towards Derek for confirmation.

Derek stared back, having checked out of the conversation somewhere between the Bisexual Bikers and the bisexual deputy Omega and really just repeating the word ‘bisexual’ in his head over and over as his mangled heart had slowly pieced itself back together.

“Uh … huh?” he asked and now Laura was looking at him in confusion, too, her ear cocked to the side and undoubtedly noticing that his heart was still beating rather erratically.

_Bisexual! Derek, that means he can still like us! He smells so good, we should ask him if he likes us! There’s a really comfy pink couch over there on that float! We should carry him there right now!_

“Couch!” Derek exclaimed, followed by clamping his lips shut with an internal groan. Now everyone was looking at him in confusion, worry, and – in the case of Lydia and Jackson – a lot of judgment.

“Uh … I mean … there’s a couch on the float. If he gets tired during the march and needs to rest his feet he can definitely do that there. Yeah. That sounds like a good idea.”

“You heard the professional, it’s decided!” Laura grinned and Derek nodded, because damn right he was a professional and his traitorous heart could just suck it.

Stiles shook his head, sighing in mock-exasperation.

“Dude. I’m eighteen weeks along, you bet I can do the entire march!”

“Of course you can! You’re awesome! But if your feet get tired or maybe your back starts hurting or maybe you get hungry or maybe you just want to rest for a little while to take in the scenery, then that couch sounds like an awesome idea!”

Scott nodded earnestly, looking like he was ready to strap Stiles to the couch and then massage his feet on principle any second now.

Stiles sighed again, rolling his eyes fondly.

“Push-overs! Absolutely, one-hundred percent over-protective pushovers!”

“It’s a parent thing. Don’t judge him. Now, Derek, give me the baby!”

Laura made grabby hands at her son and Derek was only too happy to surrender him, still feeling a little bad about involving him in his fantasy and internally vowing to get him a really great first birthday gift as an apology.

To his right, Derek’s nanas had clearly overcome their disappointment about not being able to set him up with Danny and had dragged the Omega towards the refreshment stand, their arms interlinked with his as they – Derek was certain – fired off one inappropriate question after the other.

In the meantime, Jordan had joined the party and Kira and Scott were equally inquisitive, questioning him about the birth and what life was like with a newborn.

Stiles, meanwhile, had been pulled to the side by Lydia and Jackson, who were whispering at him furiously, and Derek blocked them out as best as he could, figuring that he’d already made enough of an ass out of himself today.

That left Vesta, who held up her arms expectantly. She was a bit too tall to be carried around like a small child, but Derek picked her up anyway, raising his eyebrows at her questioningly.

Vesta bent her head so she could once more press her ear against his chest, concentrating for a couple of seconds before she nodded.

“Better. Your heart sounded really weird before. I didn’t like that,” she decided, smacking a kiss on his cheek before she hopped out of his arms again, running off to watch her frazzled parents try to corral the triplets into formation.

For a moment, Derek felt eyes on him, but when he turned around everyone was still talking animatedly, no one paying him any attention.

He took a deep breath.

He smiled.

He could do this.

 

============

 

“So … I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t take that bet after all.”

Stiles looked a bit disgruntled and a lot sheepish as he glanced up at Derek from below his comically large sun-hat, slightly swollen ankles resting over the edge of the couch.

They’d been marching for about an hour when Stiles had started shifting his weight on his feet awkwardly and Derek, who had been watching him from a safe distance to make sure he was doing ok, had suggested the couch, heroically keeping himself from carrying Stiles onto the float and feeling quite proud of having regained control over his posturing urges.

He’d made sure the pregnant Omega had settled on the couch comfortably, joined his family on the street again for a bit, and then climbed back up on the float, just to make sure Stiles was really doing ok.

He was a professional that way.

“18 weeks though, seriously, is this normal? I’m not showing _that_ much, yet, aren’t I?”

Derek shook his head reassuringly.

“It’s early, but it can happen. What’s your diet been like, lately? Have you been eating lots of salty food?”

Stiles cleared his throat, looking even more sheepish.

“Well … I’m not saying I suddenly developed a craving for hot pockets, but that is totally a thing that might have happened. So probably, yeah. In my defense though, I’ve been working on a really complicated case and it’s just easier to quickly throw one of these sodium-packed delights in the microwave rather than having to go out for lunch or something like that.”

Derek shook his head again, this time in disapproval.

“Those things aren’t going to hurt you every now and then, but they are definitely not designed to be a pregnant Omega’s primary food source. Maybe try some veggie sticks? A bit of fruit? Mashed sweet potatoes or maybe some lentil soup to heat up?”

Stiles chuckled.

“Dude, I swear, if my dad could hear you now he’d be rolling on the floor with laughter. I’ve spent half of my life chewing him out for his bad eating habits, I guess it was bound to happen to me.”

Derek smiled back, refraining from pointing out that someone who declared coffee and curly fries as his major food groups probably didn’t have a very steady leg to stand on when it came to policing other’s crappy food intake.

He studied Stiles’ face closer, frowning when he noticed that the bags under his eyes were just a little bit more pronounced than usual.

“Are you taking enough breaks while you work? Get up to stretch your back, that sort of thing?”

Stiles nodded immediately, one hand lightly cupping his belly as he took a sip of the non-alcoholic pink and glittery drink a disgruntled Jackson had brought over a couple of minutes ago.

“Of course! Gremlin’s my absolute number one priority; I am not even tempted to do an all-nighter, which is what I’d normally do. I guess I could cut back on the hot pockets, though. Maybe.”

Derek nodded approvingly and Stiles shrugged, lightly rubbing his belly with both hands now.

“Gremlin wants what Gremlin wants, I guess. She takes after her daddy that way. Scott has the worst taste in the history of werekind, essentially. He once put pineapple and sauerkraut on a pizza. A _pizza_ , Derek, I thought the dough was going to _weep_.”

“I’ve heard worse,” Derek replied and Stiles laughed, eyes sparkling with curiosity.

“I don’t doubt it.”

He craned his neck, looking past Derek to the front of the float, where Cora and Khadra were dancing to the music. Every now and then Cora would pick up her human girlfriend and lift her into the air, kissing her every time she put her back on the ground.

“It’s nice, you know? That you guys are so supportive? Forgive me if I’m overstepping, it’s just really fucking nice to see a big family where every generation is accepting of who you are. I remember back when I first realized I wasn’t one hundred percent straight and I was so fucking scared! I love my parents and I know they love me, but my dad and I never really talked about sex-stuff like that when I was growing up and he’s the Alpha Sheriff of Beacon Heights, so I spent almost two months afraid he was going to kick me out.”

Stiles shook his head. At himself, Derek thought.

“He kicked me alright. Well, he threatened he’d kick my butt if I ever thought he’d do something so horrible ever again. It really hurt his feelings, I think, but luckily I hadn’t told my mom either, so they could commiserate together. They were aggressively supportive to make up for it when I brought Danny home for the first time, though. And I really do mean aggressively supportive, my dad even went and looked up how Omegas can help each other through their heats and offered to print his extensive findings for free at the station, looking like he was getting a root canal while saying it. It was only a little bit mortifying.”

Derek smiled, not sure what to answer, but Stiles was talking again, something that obviously came easily to him.

“I haven’t actually dated an Omega since Danny, but it’s not like I’m suddenly straight or anything! I mean, _hello,_ still bisexual! Still jerking it to Omegas _and_ Alphas equally! That’s why I’m wearing the shirt, by the way, so people don’t get the wrong idea even though I’m knocked up. I get really fucking annoyed when people act like you’re only a true bisexual if you’re slutting it up with every knot or slick-filled passage you find! Sorry, that’s a bit TMI, probably, but our culture really, really sucks sometimes!”

Derek nodded, with feeling.

“Yeah. It does. I don’t take my family for granted. Believe me. I can’t speak for Cora, obviously, her coming-out story is hers to tell, not mine, but I do distinctly recall my Alpha Nana being very supportive by recounting her days of bisexual experimentation during the sexual revolution. Well … apparently they were stoned a lot back then, so she really doesn’t remember much, but it was the thought that counts, I guess.”

Stiles let out a loud snort, followed by a hiccup.

“Whoops! Sorry! That wasn’t polite! It’s just that … _hic_ … I’ve met your grandmother for all of five seconds and I can see it. Not for noth … _hic_ nothing, but I’m pretty sure that last I saw your nanas they were putting some serious moves on Danny, so I can _definitely_ see it.”

“Hold your nose, drink slowly!” Derek instructed quickly, choosing to ignore any thoughts about Danny and potential geriatric threesomes and offering the hiccupping Omega a bottle of water instead.

Stiles smiled apologetically but he followed his suggestion, one large palm once more resting on his belly as he took a couple of careful breaths.

“Huh … I never got rid of them this quickly! I’ll remember that one, for sure!”

The pregnant Omega once more glanced towards Cora and Khadra, grimacing.

“I bet they have to deal with a lot of bullshit though. I mean, if you’re bisexual most people don’t even believe you as long as you’re not hooking up with a member of your sex, so we can pass for ‘normal’, I guess. Whole different ballpark if you’re exclusively gay though. Back in high school, Danny used to get so much shit for it. You know, stuff like how he was betraying the country by not popping out all those babies, how he was destroying the American family by refusing to submit to an Alpha and how he just needed a real good knotting to turn him straight. It got so bad that he hacked into all those assholes’ computers one night, checked out their hypocritical Omega-on-Omega porn collections, and then hung up a list with their names and all the gay porn they’d watched all over school. He got in so much trouble for it, but at least the bullying stopped afterwards.”

Stiles shook his head, his expression grim.

“Gay Alphas though … seriously, you’d think the apocalypse is upon us every time an Alpha sticks their knot into another Alpha.”

Derek nodded grimly. He had never quite understood the interesting double standard that was so prevalent in homophobic thinking, the one that made it possible for people to jerk it to Omega-on-Omega porn without feeling ashamed at night and spit at gay Alphas during the day.

Well … he understood it, obviously, it just made him really mad.

Omegas were generally thought of as sexual, sensuous beings, their bodies soft and pliant, their hormones comforting and soothing and naturally geared towards intimacy. They were considered the weaker sex, easier to be led astray, never to be trusted one hundred percent.

Derek had never really gotten into Omega-on-Omega porn himself, but he’d heard Erica and Boyd talk about it often enough to know that one of the most popular scenarios was that of a boarding school, of young, ripe Omegas huddled together in close proximity and tipping each other into heat, only to help each other out, driven by their urges to nurture and to make another feel good again, no matter whether the other was an Alpha or an Omega.

Alphas were granted a lot less of the already laughable leniency those with extensive porn collections extended towards gay Omegas.

Societal opinion on the matter was pretty straightforward: Alphas were to provide for Omegas, not for other Alphas. Most importantly, Alphas were to dominate, never to submit, and Derek had heard enough homophobic slurs thrown at him over the years to know that the issue of penetrative knotting sex between Alphas was a central part of the homophobic narrative.

Some justified it with holy scriptures, with talk of Omegas submitting themselves to their Alphas in everything and Alphas being the head of the Omega, a doctrine so strong that any deviance was automatically a sin.

Derek scoffed at these people, for the most part, not ready to take anyone seriously who used one part of the scriptures to oppress and discriminate others but ignored other parts because they couldn’t stay away from shellfish or a good bargain at _H &M. _

It were the ones who cared little about gay Omegas but were obsessed with the image of the penetrated Alpha that truly bothered him, the ones whose hatred seemed to boil down to one very simple reason: their revulsion at seeing an Alpha submit like an Omega.

It was a thought so foreign and horrifying to him he could barely wrap his mind around it, but the fact remained that there were still an alarming amount of people who hated and feared Omegas so much that the very thought of an Alpha acting like them drove them to violence

Derek hadn’t needed his parents to explain to him that society at large still considered Omegas inferior. He knew that there were countries where being born an Omega made your risk of a violent death go up one-hundred percent and where it was common that tiny Omegas had their slick glands removed to make intercourse painful rather than pleasurable.

So far, Derek had assisted only one client who’d gone through the procedure as a child, towards the end of his training in Los Angeles. Keeping himself calm throughout the birth hadn’t been difficult – the mutilation didn’t just affect sex but also made natural births trickier and he’d had to concentrate one hundred percent.

Keeping himself calm afterwards hadn’t been quite as easy as he’d sat in an empty hallway of the hospital, his face pressed against his shaking hands to hide the tears running down his face and an uncharacteristically quiet Bobby Finstock sitting next to him.

In the past five years, Derek had been lucky enough to rarely have to deal with that kind of trauma, but he had chosen a job where he would always run the risk of seeing the mistreatment of Omegas first-hand.

Just thinking about it now made his stomach twist painfully, anger surging through him so powerfully that it made him nauseous.

He took a deep breath, shoulders tensing and fighting to keep his eyes hazel instead of red for the second time that day, aware that he was probably pumping out enough Alpha stress hormones to power a small army.

“Hey,” Stiles said quietly, one hand coming to rest on Derek’s shoulder with only a little bit of hesitation.

Derek didn’t want to, but he couldn’t help himself. He closed his eyes for just a moment, allowing Stiles’ soothing Omega hormones to wash over him.

Stiles wasn’t moving his hand, as Derek’s father usually did, but the warm weight of his large palm was both comforting and grounding, allowing Derek to relax his muscles and slowly drop his shoulders.

It was an innocent touch but it also felt intimate, Stiles’ thumb barely brushing against the hot skin on the nape of his neck.

“Happy thoughts, alright? Today is a happy day full of pride, love, and laughter. We can get back to worrying about the horrid mess of the world tomorrow, okay?”

Stiles squeezed Derek’s shoulder, making eye contact to make sure he was okay before he removed his hand.

Derek swallowed, trying not to focus on the residual warmth between his shoulder blades as he mustered up a smile.

Happy thoughts. He could do that. He also really needed to get away, because he was suddenly dangerously close to pressing his face against Stiles’ shoulder and cry and that just wouldn’t do.

“I should get back to my family, they’ll be up here calling me lazy any second now,” he said, desperate to break the tension that, given his luck, was probably very one-sided.

Stiles blinked in surprise, as if he’d also forgotten where they were.

“Oh … oh yeah, absolutely. Go do your thing. I think I’ll stay up here for a bit longer though. I’d be stupid not to milk this for as long as I can, am I right?”

“Absolutely,” Derek agreed, brushing glitter off his jeans as he got up from where he’d been kneeling on the platform.

He was just about to jump off the float when Stiles cleared his throat.

“Hey Derek? Thanks. You know, for coming to up here to check on me. I really appreciate it.”

Derek sought the Omega’s gaze, knowing that the question inside those warm amber eyes was only his wishful thinking and not reality and that the smile on his face was one of gratitude and did not hold a deeper meaning.

The self-deprecating dramatic part of himself knew this because he’d never really met someone who’d wanted him for himself, rather than this body, and there was no reason why Stiles would be any different.

The larger, rational part of himself knew this, because the Omega’s hands had dropped down to unconsciously cradle the gentle swell of his belly, an unnecessary yet crucial reminder that, biological cub or not, Stiles was pregnant.

Derek had done his job long enough to know that the intimacy that developed between an Omega and their midwife could easily be misread as something more than it was, one of the many reasons so many Alphas were reluctant when their Omegas first came to see him and also one of the reasons why he occasionally had to let a client go because their Alpha’s jealousy was making it impossible for him to do his job the way he needed to.

Derek had never misread the affection of a pregnant Omega for anything other than immense gratitude that he was taking care of the precious pup they were bringing into the world.

He wasn’t going to start misreading these affections now.

That didn’t mean that he didn’t hate himself a little for saying what had to be said.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s my job.”

Stiles stared at him for a second, blinking rapidly, but then he nodded, throwing him an aloof wave.

Derek inhaled deeply and then jumped off the float to find his family.

“Derek?” Talia asked when Derek joined her in front of the float, smile firmly in place as he grabbed a bunch of candy from his mother’s basket.

“Little Bear?” his mother asked again, her own smile slipping off her face as she looked at him, but Derek ignored her, busying himself with throwing a pack of snickers towards a little Omega boy perched on his father’s shoulders.

There was nothing to talk about.

He was fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus concludes the possibly angstiest chapter of this fic. More happiness and fluff from here on out to make up for it, I promise! 
> 
> Next chapter will feature Peter's vasectomy party, a Hale family investigation regarding Vesta's secret intelligence about Derek's weird heartbeat patterns, and Stiles and Derek having a moment during the former's third appointment.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya my lovelies, have another ridiculously long chapter to make up for the longer than two weeks posting hiatus :).
> 
> Fair warning, the next chapter will either be posted before Christmas or after the first week of January, because I'll be on a much needed and looked forward to vacation and my travel companions would probably frown if I told them "Sorry, can't go sight-seeing, need to write mpreg fic" haha. It depends on my workload until then, so we'll see. By the way, my word document has been acting up for some reason and keeps defying me on the spell-check. I hope I didn't miss too many mistakes - since English isn't my native language, that's always a risk with my fics ;). 
> 
>  
> 
> Alas, the warnings for this chapter include: talk of abortion (not Sterek) and talk of third-trimester abortions (where I have Derek vomit my politics all over you, essentially). 
> 
> Also, in case people are confused (I'd understand, I had to put this at the end of the word doc in bold letters so I could look it up, haha), the current ages and genders of of Peter and Zandrine's dozen are: 
> 
> Malia, 22, werewolf, Alpha.  
> Apollo, 20, werewolf, Omega.  
> Romulus and Remus, 18, human/human, Alpha/Alpha.  
> Thor, 15, human, Alpha.  
> Luna, 12, werewolf, Alpha.  
> Vesta, 9, human, Omega.  
> Ares, 7, human, Alpha.  
> Frigg, Freya, Fulla, 5, werewolf/werewolf/werewolf, Alpha/Alpha/Alpha.  
> Bob, 7 months, werewolf, Alpha.

_5 Days Later_

 

“ _At long last, the reign of_ _Beacon Hill’s resident Master Breeder has come to an end! Join us in honor of Peter Hale’s virility as we pay tribute to his mighty sperm count and celebrate his …_ okay no. That’s it. No. Just … no!”

“Face it Derek, you and your family have been the talk of the town for years. Even if you tried changing your name now, everyone in Beacon Hills would still know you share at least some DNA with the Master Breeder of Beacon Hills, who, according to this titillating invitation for his vasectomy party, inspired fire and passion in the heart and loins of …”

“I hate you. So much,” Derek said flatly, glaring at his two best friends and feeling severely unimpressed with their unwillingness to acknowledge his pain.

Next to him, Erica didn’t even have the decency to look up from painting the nails on her right foot and Boyd just shrugged, barely glancing up from where he’d been working on Erica’s left foot.

“I think it’s sweet, actually. Highly disturbing, of course, but a little sweet nevertheless.”

“Sweet? _Sweet_? My nana’s cookies are sweet! My newborn nephew is sweet! This is an anatomically incorrect drawing of my uncle’s junk! On glossy cardboard paper!”

“True as that may be, I still say it’s nice that they’re celebrating the end of something that’s clearly been so important to them,” Boyd mused.

He blew on Erica’s big toe and scrunched up his face in concentration.

“Even if that means you having to cut off your uncle’s balls with a pair of shears in front of an entire ballroom audience.”

“First of all, that’s _not_ going to happen! Ever! Secondly, even if I were to go spontaneously insane and let myself get roped into this latest attempt to shame the Hale name for generations to come, I wouldn’t even be qualified!” Derek exclaimed as he threw himself on the couch in Erica and Boyd’s apartment in what he hoped was sufficiently dramatic fashion.

Given Erica and Boyd’s continued obliviousness to his anguish, his theatrics clearly needed work.

“How _is_ he going to accomplish it, though? Shouldn’t werewolf healing prevent you from getting a vasectomy? I mean, you could use wolfsbane to stop the healing, obviously, but that sounds like a tragedy for the front page of _Werewolf Weekly_ in the making.”

Derek groaned, burying his face into the couch cushions.

“Deaton made a potion. Works just fine. Now leave me alone,” he mumbled, huffing in exasperation when Erica reached over to ruffle his hair.

“Awww, don’t be like that! Look on the bright side, the chances of having multiples go up the older you get and Zan just turned 44, didn’t she? I imagine everyone’s secretly relieved they’re no longer at risk of reliving the days of the Triplet-Teething-Terror.”

“Still!” Derek griped, making a grab for the chips bowl.

“He even drew some jizz!”

“That’s what that was? I thought his penis was crying because it’s about to lose his two best friends. Huh … that’s disappointing actually, I was quite moved by the idea of Peter’s dick no longer having his balls to talk to and having to bury his sorrow inside dearest darling Za…”

“I am _not_ listening, you are _not_ my friends and I don’t even know why I’m here!” Derek interrupted her, glaring at her reproachfully.

Erica cocked her eyebrow meaningfully, pointing towards the junk food filled couch table.

“Except you _are_ listening, we _are_ your best friends, and you’re here because you’re in desperate need of snuggle and talking time with your best friends, a blanket, a family-sized tub of Ben  & Jerry’s, and maybe some porn if the mood strikes.”

Derek snorted, though he tilted his head to give her better access to scratch the back of his neck.

“No porn. Ever again, not even for Alphahood bonding time. I love you, I do, but if I want a critical frame-by-frame analysis of knotting technique I might just as well get drunk with my aunt. Not that she has any complaints, as the evidence suggests, but apparently there is always room for improvement.”

“I’m starting to understand why Malia tried to run away from home in second, fifth, eighth, _and_ twelfth grade,” Boyd said, carefully setting Erica’s foot down and looking at the nail colors on the table with a critical eye.

Derek scoffed.

“As if they’d ever talk to their own kids about their sexual exploits! They do have boundaries, believe it or not! It’s just innocent nephews that are fair game, apparently. And Malia didn’t actually run away from home, she just has the tracking skills of a blind and deaf bat and is too proud to admit it. Besides, I’m pretty sure that last time she and Cora just got drunk in the woods and it took her a bit longer to sleep it off. My baby-sister didn’t rat her out, of course, but she did smell like Bourbon Street when she stumbled home at five in the morning.”

“I remember that. Didn’t your mother ground Cora for two months?”

“Despite my nanas’ valiant attempts to remind her that she, herself, got drunk and tried to mark her territory in the backyard during her Senior year, yep.”

“That’s why I chose her to be my pack Alpha, obviously. So, Derek, ice-cream?” Erica asked, sounding entirely too casual for Derek’s liking.

He eyed the family sized tub of Peanut Butter Fudge Core suspiciously, narrowing his eyes at an equally innocent looking Boyd and trying to sniff past the nail polish fumes.

“Is there something you guys are trying to tell me?” he asked.

Boyd didn’t even look up from painting his toenails in a nice shade of teal, electing not to dignify the comment with a reaction, and Erica snorted loudly, patting Derek’s cheek.

“Not everyone is frothing at the mouth to procreate. I know that must seem strange, given how you grew up, but willingly staying childless is totally a thing these days. Actually, this is for you.”

“All of it?” Derek asked critically and Erica snorted again, looking at him as if he’d lost his mind.

“It’s my favorite flavor so we’ll share, obviously. No, I just thought that you’d … you know … want to talk. About stuff. You know … stuff.”

“ _Stuff_ ,” Derek repeated, eyebrows rising, and Erica threw her hands up in surrender with a huff.

“Fine, but you better not complain anymore about me being a failure at subtlety, at least I tried, this time!”

She shook her head at him like he was personally at fault for her nosy ways, expression softening as she reached out to pat his shoulder.

“Alright. Listen. Your cousin asked her father why your heart sounded really strange when Stiles came to talk to you at the parade and Peter naturally blabbed to your nanas, so of course I got a call about it. Apparently they noticed something was off at the parade, too, and they wanted to know if they had to go give Stiles a grandmotherly talking to. I talked them out of _that_ , thankfully, but I promised I’d have a heart to heart with you about it. Your alternative, by the way, is to have that heart-to-heart with your nanas, so if I were you I’d take the deal, because the talk is happening no matter what you say and I’ve got ice-cream.”

“Alternatively, you could all respect my privacy? Outrageous, I know,” Derek said tersely and Erica shrugged, having the decency to look at least a little apologetic.

“Would if I could, Dear-Bear, but I do work with you and you’ve been _miserable_ these past seven days. Also, I wasn’t going to mention it, but you smelled pretty interested after you met Stiles for the first time and downright infatuated when he came in the second time. I know you’d never even consider dating one of your patients, so I figured you were working through it, but what I smelled and saw these past seven days seemed more like you’re trying to become Saint Derek Martyr of Unrequited Love and Silent Sufferer of Heartache.”

She paused for a moment, looking at him with sympathy and a hint of impatience.

“You don’t _have_ to talk to me, obviously, but we wanted you to know that we’re here for you and that we care that you’re obviously feeling like shit.”

“It’s stupid anyway,” Derek muttered, making room when Erica abandoned her armchair, nudged her way onto the couch to his left, and made a grab for the ice cream, pushing one of the spoons into his hand without a word.

Boyd followed on his right, freshly painted toes propped up on the coffee table so they could dry.

For a while no one said anything, the buzzing sound of cicadas outside the only noise in the apartment.

Finally, Derek sighed, taking another spoonful of ice cream.

“I might like him a little,” he admitted, looking at the wall so he wouldn’t see his friends’ judgment.

“I know it doesn’t make sense. I’ve barely met him three times; I don’t even really know him. Hell, I don’t even know if he’s actually single. But even if he was, he’s pregnant and he’s my client! He’s neither in the emotional state to start something serious, nor am I in a position to do so without a serious breach of professional ethics. I’ve got a responsibility here and I need to take that seriously! Besides, he doesn’t like me back, so it’s no use anyhow. Why should he, anyway, he doesn’t know me either! It’s going to be okay though. I’m dealing with it. It’ll be fine.”

Erica sighed loudly, flicking a nail against his ear.

“Okay. First of all, you don’t know he doesn’t like you because you haven’t asked him. Secondly, he’s definitely single, just to put your mind at ease. Thirdly, I knew I wanted to marry Boyd after five minutes, so don’t pretend like you have to aggressively pine for someone for years before your emotions are considered valid!”

“But …”

“No but! Also, you _do_ know Stiles, because believe me, he hasn’t been holding back. I’ve known him since high school and the guy you met is exactly who he is: snarky, educated, a bit accident-prone, deeply loyal to the people he loves. He has a little bit of a mean streak, too, but he’s mostly got that under control. It occasionally rears its ugly head though, for example when he tries to provoke Alpha midwives to figure out if they are bigoted traditional assholes.”

She frowned, looking thoughtful.

“It’s not that I don’t get that he’s pregnant, Derek. But what you seem to have forgotten is that being pregnant doesn’t mean you’ve suddenly lost your marbles. Would you have to dial it down on the sex acrobatics while he’s still knocked up? Yes, definitely, but I’m sure your aunt can give you lots of helpful tips for that!”

“Lots of them. Too many of them. I drink to forget them all,” Boyd contributed helpfully, nudging Derek’s shoulder when the Alpha winced.

“See? You’re surrounded by lots of supportive people who just want to see you happy! Unless … does it bother you that he’s pregnant?”

Derek shook his head.

“Not at all, actually. I still haven’t figured out if that’s weird or completely normal and the whole cavemen Alpha deal is just an invention by the Alphatriarchy.”

“If you have to ask, it probably is. It might be a weird sex-thing, too. According to your aunt, the number of heterosexual cavemen porn on the Internet far eclipses the …”

“ _Why_?” Derek interrupted, groaning, and Erica chuckled, looking not even a little bit sorry.

Boyd cleared his throat.

“For the record, I actually agree with you Derek. If you guys started dating you’d very likely have to let him go as a client and he really doesn’t have any other options around here. The supernaturally qualified midwives in Beacon Heights are out of the question and the next person who’d be willing to take him on is over three hours away, which just isn’t practical once he reaches his third trimester.”

Boyd held up his hand when Erica opened her mouth, shaking his head at his mate with a disapproving frown.

“That being said, however, if you really like him you might want to let him know that the pregnancy doesn’t bother you. I mean … don’t tell him directly, obviously. I’m pretty sure he could sue you for sexual harassment, so you shouldn’t be a creeper about it. I only know Stiles from Erica’s stories so he might deal with this completely differently than I would, but if I was pregnant I wouldn’t even dream of hitting on a different Alpha. I know you remember that one poor Omega boy two years ago; you know how badly that can go. What I’m saying is, if he thinks you’re never going to be interested in him in a million years he’s going to be very careful about which signals he’s sending out.”

The Omega paused, considering.

“Again, I agree with you that this would be wildly unprofessional while he’s still pregnant. Heck, he might not want to risk losing you as a midwife either. If that kid is really part Kitsune he definitely needs someone who is good at their job to handle the possible complications. However, there _is_ going to come a time when he’s not pregnant and maybe knowing that you would have accepted him even while pregnant with another Alpha’s cub might make him feel more … inclined to give you a chance post-partum. Not that I’m encouraging you in this matter. Just sharing my thoughts.”

Erica sighed, looking deeply displeased at the universe.

“As usual, my darling mate is being entirely too reasonable. Fine! Making the moves on Stiles while he’s up the duff with Scott and Kira’s love child is probably not the best idea for anyone involved. I can already hear McCall calling me in a panic to ask me if he’s going to end up with a troll for a kid because your penis poked it in the noggin while in-utero and I have no interested in repeating that particular anatomy lesson. Again. This week. Anyway, you should definitely let him know you’re available in a non-creepy way though. I have a hunch he would appreciate it.”

Derek threw his hands up in frustration, looking pained.

“And how should I do that, exactly?”

Erica shrugged.

“Well, you probably shouldn’t touch him while you’re telling him, there’s a chance he could read that the wrong way. Maybe you can offer him a cookie and then, while he’s delightfully munching on the goods you provided, you can casually mention that you’d like to marry him and have lots of sex and babies.”

Derek raised his eyebrows, unimpressed.

“Firstly, that’s _not_ how that goes, if you want to quote _Love Actually_ , do it properly! I’d have to invite him out for a drink first and I’m certainly not going to do that while he’s pregnant. Secondly, praise be Alan Rickman, who knew how to be the Alphaest of Alphas when he faced off against Bruce Willis and spoke German with a British accent, yet showed us all how caring and kind an Alpha can be when he read to Kate Winslet in the English countryside.”

“Praise,” Boyd and Erica said solemnly and Derek nodded, satisfied.

“Thirdly, I’m pretty sure that telling an already pregnant Omega you want to have sex and even more babies with them has never gone well for anyone and their knot. Also … you know what? No. I’m just going to deal with it. His health is my first priority and I have a feeling the kid is going to manifest Kitsune powers by the time he enters his third trimester, so I’d be an ass for ruining our professional relationship just because I can’t handle the fact that he smells so damn good.”

Erica sighed mournfully.

“Your life, your choices, Derek. You only live once though, you should consider that sometime. Your family agrees with me on that, by the way.”

“So they tell me. The last time I got that advice Auntie Zan was perusing Knotting-Strap Ons on Amazon and she tried to rope me into buying a set for myself so she could get the three for two discount.”

“Yes, well, she loves you dearly, she only wants what’s best for you. Horrendously inappropriate it may be,” Boyd offered.

He nudged Derek’s shoulder in support and got up to refill their drinks, shaking his head when Erica demanded a Sex on the Beach with a salacious wink.

Derek watched his friends bicker with a little smile, though his heart still felt heavy inside his chest.

He knew what he had to do.

He just didn’t like it one tiny bit.

 

=============

 

_The Next Day_

 

“What is the _mayor_ doing here?”

“I … I don’t know. I just don’t know, little Bear.”

Derek and his mother shared a look of pure, unadulterated horror as they watched Peter shake Mike Perkins’ hand, dressed in his best suit and looking as if he was attending a state visit.

“Do you think he’s still mad about that one time I busted his hate-mongrel of a father’s knot?” Nana Greta asked curiously, holding on to a margarita glass almost as big as her head and looking decidedly delighted at the idea.

“Still not something to be proud of, Mother,” Talia said reproachfully but her Alpha mother just laughed, entirely unapologetic.

“Oh please, the Knothead has had it coming for decades! Don’t you remember how he used to forbid Mike from playing with you and Peter after school because you came from a home that was – I quote – ‘a hotbed of sin and perversion’? I’ve been waiting to punch him for decades! It’s funny how things work out sometimes.”

“Do I even want to know why Mayor Perkin’s dad thought so or would the answer traumatize me for life?” Cora asked, throwing one arm around her grandmother’s shoulder with a big grin.

Greta shrugged, grinning.

“That would have been Talia’s fault, Cora-Cub,” she explained, her grin widening when Talia huffed.

“All I did was correct Mike’s fake news about where babies come from when we were in kindergarten. He really thought that babies were made in a baby-factory at the hospital and that Omegas’ bellies only get so big because that’s where they store all the milk they have to feed the baby later. He told me that the Omegas with the biggest bellies get to choose the best Alpha babies because Alpha babies need to become big and strong and Omegas with the smaller bellies get stuck with the Omega babies. I might have only been four but even I could tell that was all kinds of anti-Omega nonsense!”

“Abby was pregnant with Peter at the time, so Talia had been asking lots of questions about pregnancy and baby-making. We’d tried our best to be open and honest with her about it, without going into too much detail. Apparently the detail we _did_ go into was enough for that Knothead Perkins to declare us enemies of the state for decades, but how the hell are you supposed to explain things like knot and slick and heat without actually using those words?”

Cora snorted.

“So little four-year old Mom went around and lectured everyone on knotting?” she asked, grinning from ear to ear and Talia shook her head at the same time as Greta nodded, looking proud.

“You bet she did! A good thing, too, can you imagine what that poor kid would have done if he’d had to rely on his parents for getting all his information? Beacon Hills High didn’t start teaching sex ed until shortly before Laura was born, so if you ask me, Talia did all of these kids a favor!”

“A favor that got me beaten up once by the god-squad because I was apparently going to hell for believing that Omegas should have fun during sex even outside of heats. Such a compassionate and loving folk they are. I fought back, of course, and I got a couple of pretty good jabs in before the principal separated us,” Talia mused and Cora gasped, looking at her mother in awe.

“The … oh my gosh, Mom! Don’t tell me you beat up the pastor of the Assembly of the Holy Knot Supremacy!”

“The one and only. Also, he attacked me first, so it was self-defense, really. He wasn’t a pastor then, obviously, but he was definitely getting groomed for the position. He pulled his kids out of the public school system when I became principal at the high school, so he obviously holds grudges. I do feel a little bad about that, though, those kids would have desperately benefited from some knowledge not tinged in crazy.”

“Amen to that,” Nana Greta declared, taking a large gulp of her drink for emphasis.

Derek followed her example and took a smaller sip of his own drink, figuring he’d probably need it when he noticed that Peter had climbed upon a table in the middle of the festively decorated backyard and was clearly getting ready to give a speech.

“Goodbye, dignity, hello new identity. Fuck my life, seriously!” Malia muttered next to him, looking mortified, and Derek nudged her shoulder affectionately, feeling her pain and a healthy dose of schadenfreude in equal measures.

“Fuck my life!” Malia repeated, pointing at her shirt, and Derek suppressed the urge to go find his parents and hug their necks as tightly as he could, immensely grateful that he’d been born to the sane part of the family.

Each of Zandrine and Peter’s dozen children had been forced to wear commemorative t-shirts for the occasion, reading “Accomplishment #1“ to “Accomplishment #12” in descending order of their births.

“The original design was a bit more provocative, but Mom put her foot down and told them there was a line,” Laura whispered from Derek’s other side, Bartholomew strapped to her chest and sleeping peacefully amidst all the noise.

“Ahem, test, test, test,” Peter’s voice rang through the yard and Derek grudgingly had to give his uncle the thumbs up for going all the way with this, not feeling particularly surprised that he had somehow conjured a microphone out of thin air.

Zandrine stood next to the table with a proud smile, holding seven-months old Bob like he was a trophy, dressed in a blue onesie that declared “Accomplishment #12“ in golden letters.

The rest of Peter’s brood had scattered across the yard between the various guests, made up of Peter’s friends, colleagues and – Derek had been resigned to note – a group of Japanese tourists who seemed to have gotten lost on their way to San Francisco and had been picked up by Peter at the gas station earlier that day.

They were dutifully taking pictures, however, displaying a polite if really confused interest, while Peter’s own kids seemed to have little to no investment in their father’s newest shenanigans.

The triplets had kidnapped Derek’s dog the moment they’d set their sights on him and were currently petting him enthusiastically, which Bernard allowed with a saint like patience.

Ares was eyeing the big cake with interest and Derek internally tipped his hat to his mother for also putting her foot down on the cake’s shape.

Vesta and Luna were sitting on the swing sets, feet dangling as they giggled about something that Derek politely didn’t listen in on and Thor had barely looked up from his phone all afternoon, clearly caught in full-on pubescent fifteen-year old teenage angst.

Romulus and Remus were moping next to the refreshment table guarded by Derek’s father, having yet again lost an argument about legal drinking ages and why it didn’t matter that the Europeans let their kids drink beer as young as 16.

Apollo, meanwhile, was leaning against his Alpha boyfriend David’s chest with a contented expression, clearly basking in the way his Alpha’s arms were wrapped around his middle protectively.

Derek narrowed his eyes, instincts suddenly tingling, but before he could take a discreet sniff his second-youngest cousin noticed him staring and held his finger to his lips with a secretive little smile.

“I’ll be damned!” Derek muttered, attracting Malia and Laura’s curious gazes.

Before he could say something, however, Peter’s voice once more boomed across the yard, followed by a high-pitched wail of protest from his youngest.

“Whoops, sorry buddy, Daddy didn’t mean to startle you! Ahem … good afternoon Omegas and Alphas and welcome to my vasectomy party! I would like to take this moment to extend an especially warm welcome to our esteemed mayor, who has graciously offered to bestow the Beacon Hills’ Golden Medal of Achievement upon me for my dutiful dedication to being a father, mate, and Alpha the rest of the town’s citizens can look up to!”

Derek and Laura shared a look, flabbergasted, and behind them Talia let out a huge sigh, whispering, “They got drunk last week and Mike lost a bet.”

Peter cleared his throat once more, shooting his sister a disapproving glare.

“I would also like to welcome our foreign guests from Japan, who I met at the gas station earlier! Please make yourself feel at home, I promise I’ll get you those directions to San Francisco as soon as you’ve had some cake and champagne to toast my accomplishments!”

 _Click, click, click,_ the tourists’ cameras made, and Derek shook his head in awe, not sure whether to laugh or cry as he imagined the inevitable fall-out on YouTube.

Peter posed with a cheeky smile, winking at his more or less enraptured audience.

“It has been my great pleasure to grow my family with my beautiful, precious Zandrine, the Omega of my heart and best mate and mother of my children I could have possibly wished for! As you look around you, you will see the beaming faces of the fruits of our loins, proudly carrying on the Hale line and representing a testament to my Omega’s incredible dedication and love!”

He paused for dramatic effect, apparently taking the stunned silence as approval.

“Alas, all good things must come to an end! Many years ago, my dearest Zandrine and I set our hearts on having a dozen children. In January, little Bob completed this dream and we could not ask for anything more! Now the time has come for us to exclusively engage in marital duties for the simple reason of toe-curling pleasure, rather than procreation! Well … it’s not that procreation and everything that came with it wasn’t fun, of course! In fact, there is simply nothing comparable to tracing the roundness of your glowing Omega with your tongue and knowing that you and your big fat knot did that! Why, there can be nothing more glorious than feeling your Omega’s big swollen belly brush against your own deliciously toned stomach – not an ounce of sympathy belly, by the way, even after twelve children, I don’t know how I pulled it off! Why, I will always remember the first time that I was blessed to be on the receiving end of a relentless onslaught of pregnancy hormones that made my entire body throb with …”

“Baby ears!” Talia barked, tone leaving no room for argument, and Peter sighed, disgruntled.

“All right, all right, jeez. Zandrine, beloved, hand me the potion please.”

Zandrine held up a small vial of a purple concoction and Peter held it up triumphantly.

“This vial holds the most effective form of birth control for Alphas and represents a big fat fuck you to anyone who thinks that birth control is only an Omega’s job!”

“Hear, hear,” Derek heard multiple people mutter and he smiled, suddenly a lot more willing to forgive his uncle’s wording of the invitation cards.

Peter uncorked the vial, holding it up to his lips dramatically.

“This is it. No going back now. Zandrine, dearest, won’t you come up here and hold the vial to my lips? After we made twelve wonderful, perfect children together, it seems only fair you should be involved in the act that ends our incredibly successful journey of baby-making!”

Peter looked around to see which of his children was closest, eyes settling on Apollo and waving at him impatiently.

“Yo, kiddo, come over here and hold your baby-brother!” he called and Apollo rolled his eyes good-naturedly, untangling himself from his Alpha’s embrace and accepting Bob from his mother with a grin.

Apollo’s Alpha once more wrapped his arms around the Omega as soon as the baby was settled comfortably on his hip, one hand supporting the child’s back and the other possessively splayed over Apollo’s abdomen.

“Hold on a second! Is he … _what_?” Malia suddenly whispered next to Derek, her words a bit muffled due to her fangs, and Derek grabbed her arm, shushing her.

Meanwhile, Zandrine had climbed on the table and was holding the vial against Peter’s lips, one finger lightly caressing his chin.

“They are so eye-fucking right now. I love it!” Erica said gleefully, having joined them with an unimpressed Boyd in tow and holding a margarita glass as big as Nana Greta’s.

“Cheers!” Peter said, finally downing the potion.

 _Click, click, click_ the Japanese tourists’ cameras made, and Derek emphatically did not want to know what kind of stories about ridiculous Americans they would tell their friends and relatives back home in Japan.

No, he did not.

Zandrine beamed up at her husband as he licked his lips, her eyes sparkling as she reached on her tippy toes to whisper something in his ear.

A second later Peter let out a loud gasp, eyes wide as he looked at his mate and Derek … really wasn’t surprised at all when his uncle dropped to his knees and pressed his face against Zandrine’s stomach, inhaling deeply.

When Peter pulled his head back his eyes were glowing bright red, confirming Derek’s suspicion.

Behind Derek, his father let out a snort.

“I’ll be damned. The Master Breeder of Beacon Hills manages to breed one more time even after downing a castration potion. Looks like we’ll have to add to the main house after all, my love,” Sebastian said drily, patting Talia’s head when his wife let out a long-suffering sigh.

“What … why … _what_?” Malia exclaimed, fangs still out and claws clutching Derek’s arm.

Derek patted her hand in mock-sympathy, mouthing “Old-people sex,” at her and grinning when she groaned dramatically.

“Thirteen _is_ a lucky number! Citizens of Beacon Hills, behold! My final accomplishment! The House of Hale prospers and the Descendants of Peter shall rule the lands!” Peter bellowed, beaming as he hopped down from the table and helped Zandrine down as well, twirling her around before dipping her to kiss her deeply.

 _Click, click, click_ made the cameras and Derek was tempted to pull out his own phone when Apollo approached his parents, a shit-eating grin on his face.

“Uhm, Mom?” Apollo asked, smiling sheepishly as he handed little Bob back to their mother.

“Can you please tell me you’re farther along than thirteen weeks? Not that it matters, I guess, but it might be a little awkward if your first grandchild ends up being older than your youngest child.”

Peter’s eyes widened.

“ _What_?”

Apollo smiled again, a little hesitantly this time.

“Uhm … surprise?”

“Darling!” Zandrine gasped, looking delighted, and Peter shook his head like he’d just woken up, a myriad of emotions flitting across his face in dizzying speeds.

 _Click, click, click,_ the cameras made, and okay yeah, Derek kind of did want to know what the tourists were going to tell their families back home.

“ _Son_ ,” Peter breathed after a long pause, voice heavy with emotion, and then he pulled Apollo close, wrapping him up in a firm hug.

Apollo looked like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders when they separated, only to wince when Peter whirled towards his human boyfriend and glared, marching towards poor David with _intent_.

“Alright young man, let’s talk about your financial situation and your intentions!”

“Yes, let’s, you baby-brother defiling _fiend_!” Malia hissed, finally breaking from Derek’s hold and advancing upon the nervously sweating young man with a smile so sinister Derek felt a momentary urge to shield his own knot protectively.

 _Click, click, click_ made the cameras, Bernard barked happily, and as the occupants of the yard finally broke into excited chatter and glasses clinked in celebration, Derek almost but not quite forgot about the heaviness in his heart.

Almost.

 

================

 

_1 Week Later_

For as long as Derek could remember, Independence Day at the Hale house had been the biggest event of the year, almost bigger than Christmas and Thanksgiving combined.

The reason, as he and any child within Nana Greta’s earshot had been told countless times now, was that their ancestor, Theodora Hale, had fought alongside Washington during the War of Independence and her close connection to the future first president had ensured werewolves’ legal rights and protections that had surpassed many other countries’ laws at the time.

The centuries since had not been without struggle for the werewolf and supernatural community, of course.

The great divide and subsequent loss of rights and protections had occurred in the 19th century, when werewolves and other hierarchically organized members of the supernatural community had rebelled against slavery.

Derek and his siblings and cousins had all learned to recite the great secession speech by heart in Supernatural History Class at school, delivered by a young mated pair consisting of a black Alpha and a white Omega wolf, 8 months pregnant with his pup.

The conflict had escalated when human authorities had tried to force the predominantly white pack to chain up their black Alpha leader and treat him as a thing just because of the color of his skin and they had tried to force the Omega into selling the cub after birth.

Reports of chaining up powerful and just Alpha leaders and selling off cubs had _not_ sat well with werewolves across the land, causing them to retreat from human civilization for decades.

The Civil War had thus led to many years of tension between humans and the supernatural community, so much so that there had even been a time when werewolves had refused to celebrate the nation altogether.

The current political climate wasn’t ideal by any means, but Nana Greta was firmly of the opinion that Theodora Hale’s accomplishments deserved acknowledgement, resulting in a big Independence Day celebration once again hosted in the Hale’s large backyard.

So far, Derek had spent the better part of the day alternating between playing with his youngest cousins, letting himself get talked into having his toenails painted in red, white, and blue by Vesta and Luna, making sure the triplets didn’t accidentally kill Bernard with love, and being force-fed barbecue because Nana Abby had decided he was getting too skinny.

As the warm afternoon sun gave way to the purple and pink hues of early evening, Derek excused himself and took a leisurely walk to the lake that was half a mile behind their property, enjoying the peace and quiet.

He loved the babies of his family.

He loved them fiercely, in fact, but, still a little too caught up in his own head, he’d just about reached the threshold of yelling kids that he could take.

If he was honest, he was also trying to escape from the worried looks of his grandmothers and parents.

Derek was under no illusion that his family hadn’t investigated after Boyd and Erica’s well-meaning tiny intervention and even though he appreciated their concern, he felt just a little bit suffocated under their sympathetic glances.

His mother and his grandmothers had witnessed his heartache after he’d jumped off the float at the parade and they had clearly connected the dots, but Derek knew they hadn’t asked him outright because they trusted him to be professional enough not to compromise his job and reputation.

Derek had worked too hard to get where he was and ruining his professional relationship with Stiles with unwanted advances was just the kind of transgression the conservative population of Beacon Hills had been waiting for since he’d accepted his first client.

Also, he’d removed himself from the festivities because he’d reached the absolute maximum of ribs he could eat without getting sick and he didn’t want to worry Nana Abby even more by refusing her food.

He knew his face looked a bit slimmer than usual, his jawline just a little bit more defined than he himself was comfortable with, but well, he was a lovesick Alpha, he was allowed to wallow in his misery for a while before snapping out of it.

His pace picked up as the lake came closer and Derek squinted when he noticed a solitary figure sitting on the dock, feet dangling in the water.

On instinct, Derek took a sniff, wincing in sympathy when he detected a healthy cub currently nestled inside a very nauseous Omega.

“Hey Auntie Zan,” he said quietly, giving her some space as he sat down next to her and put his own feet into the water.

Zandrine looked down and let out a small chuckle.

“My daughters were successful, I see,” she commented, taking another sip of the large bottle of ginger ale she’d brought with her.

“I like it. It’s very festive,” Derek replied easily and Zandrine turned her head to smile at him, though her lips twisted into a grimace almost immediately.

“Ugh! Fair warning, little Bear, you have just entered the splash zone. I feel like I’ve done nothing but puke for days, I haven’t felt this nauseous during a pregnancy for a long time.”

She glared down at her little belly, which was already beginning to round out noticeably even though she was barely nine weeks along, conditioned after so many pregnancies.

“You’re causing quite a commotion here, little one. I actually don’t think I’ve been this nauseous since I carried Vesta. I threw up a bit with the triplets, too, but with the others I only ever felt a little nauseous! Nothing comparable to this 24 hour puke fest I’ve been attending lately!”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but if I recall correctly the bathroom was always occupied when you were carrying Apollo, too. Laura used to get really mad about it,” Derek said, smiling gently.

“I’ll deny I said it because it really is an old Omegas’ tale, but you do seem to experience more nausea when you’re having a little Omega.”

Zandrine placed her hand on her belly, smiling gently.

“It feels like an Omega, too. I know I don’t have the best track record on predicting the chromosomal gender, but I’ve never been wrong on the sex so far. We’ll love you either way, little one, but Mommy and Daddy sure hope you’re going to be an Omega – you have a big sister who’d be over the moon if you are.”

Derek smiled, a little wistfully.

“I think Barty’s birth helped, but with Apollo having his own child soon and starting his life, I’m sure Vesta would benefit from having just a little bit more Omegas around,” he agreed, frowning in concern when Zandrine groaned and pressed her hand against her mouth, her complexion paling even further.

“Give me your hand,” he said, offering her his palm, and Zandrine groaned again, her free hand clutching her belly.

“Won’t work,” she muttered, her words muffled, but Derek shook his head patiently, reaching over to gently peel the hand pressed against his aunt’s belly away and concentrating.

After a long moment Zandrine exhaled shakily, lowering her hand and taking a careful breath.

“That never worked when Peter tried it,” she said, curiously, and Derek shrugged, taking a deep breath himself as the phantom nausea cleared his system.

“Morning sickness isn’t an actual illness, so it’s difficult to locate the source of the pain. If someone’s nauseous because of the stomach flu or overeating, that’s easier to figure out. Morning sickness is often caused by hormonal changes that are natural with pregnancy, so if a werewolf tries to leach it he or she would have a hard time locating the source because hormones are all over the place. It doesn’t work all the time, by the way, but I’ve had a couple of clients with HG who were very willing to let me practice on them. It’s only temporary I’m afraid, since I can’t do anything about the cause, but you should be fine for at least half an hour or so.”

Zandrine smiled grimly, taking another sip of ginger ale.

“Half an hour free of nausea is more than I’ve experienced in the past three days combined, I’m sure. Thanks little Bear.”

“You’re welcome … _Grannie_ ,” Derek teased, ducking his head when Zandrine flicked her fingers against his ear.

“I’m way too young to be called Grannie, young man! Peter almost had a coronary when I called him Pops yesterday, so we’re going to have to come up with other nicknames. This is non-negotiable.”

Derek shrugged, grinning.

“Well, it _would_ be a bit confusing for Bob and this little one if they called you Mommy and their best friend was running around calling you Grannie, I guess.”

Zandrine grimaced.

“Yeah. That. Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited for Apollo, I am. That boy’s had his heart set on fatherhood for years, but the town’s people are definitely going to start calling us Werewolf Trash now, that’s for sure.”

Derek snorted.

“If you can’t deny it, own it. Besides, Mom says this is not unusual in werewolf packs at all, since werewolf Omegas can easily conceive until their mid-fifties. I checked out the midwife Apollo wants to contact when he goes back to college, by the way, and from what I can tell she’s got a pretty good reputation. He and the cub smell pretty healthy, too, so I’m sure they’ll be just fine.”

Zandrine hummed, a smile on her face.

“Good. That’s good to know.”

Derek smiled back, stretching his legs a little and treading his feet through the water.

“So, has Peter recovered from the shock yet? He was strangely quiet at dinner.”

Zandrine sighed, grabbing a stick from the dock and twirling it between her fingers.

“Peter’s happy for him, obviously, but he’s also worried because they’re still so young and still have two years of college left. Apollo says he is going to enroll for the fall semester with David and he’s planning on finishing the fall semester and take off the spring semester, but he’s going to be 36 weeks pregnant during finals week! I’m not sure I’m going to be able to sleep at night knowing my boy is going to school and putting himself under so much stress while he’s so very pregnant and so far away from me. They’re also living in a shoebox on the ninth floor without an elevator because that’s the only apartment they could afford on their own, so Peter has already looked at real estate because he’s thinking about buying them a pregnancy- and baby-appropriate place. Of course, knowing my proud son he’s going to refuse taking the money, but oh well, he’ll just have to suck it. I’m pretty sure Peter and I can get David on board with horrifying tales of heavily pregnant Omegas slipping and falling down a stairwell.”

“That’s playing a bit dirty, don’t you think?”

“Maybe. But if you have sex without a condom despite a tendency to forget the pill, you’ll just have to deal.”

Zandrine winced, smiling apologetically.

“Of course I’m not one to talk. Conceiving Malia straight out of college at the age of 22 wasn’t exactly what Peter and I had planned, either.”

Derek’s eyebrows rose to his head.

“Seriously? I always thought Malia was the first in a long line of planned love-children?”

Zandrine chuckled.

“Not at all, actually. She doesn’t know, so please don’t tell her, but if we’d named her after the reason she came into being, she’d not be called Malia, she’d be ‘Got Drunk as a Skunk on Graduation Night’. Imagine the nightmare of finding space for all those middle names on official papers, though, so we went with Malia instead.”

“Drunk as a skunk on graduation night?” Derek repeated, amused, and Zandrine nodded.

“Yep. Like, ridiculously drunk. I think I even barfed into a marijuana plant at one point. It was a wild night. We think that’s how I ended up pregnant, because, as my OBGYN told me two months later, the pill isn’t effective anymore if you barf within hours after taking it, even if you’re still weeks away from your next heat. Well … not weeks, technically, I got my heat early the week after graduation, probably from all the finals stress, but yeah, that’s when it happened. You and Laura were too young to remember, but finding out I was pregnant that first time wasn’t a happy day at all.”

She rubbed her belly, smiling thoughtfully.

“I sometimes feel bad about it, because Peter and I were so happy all the other times, but with Malia, our situation was just so different. We weren’t going to stay at the pack house, you know, we were going to work some random jobs in Beacon Hills for a couple of months, save up enough money and then travel the world for a year while we figured out what to do with our degrees. Your father was still in his first trimester with Cora when we moved in after graduation and he wasn’t exactly selling this whole pregnancy appeal at the time. I didn’t actually get to know him until he was well into his second trimester, because he was either tired, bedridden with migraine-like headaches, or puking his guts out. Something he did with all three of you, apparently, so I guess he was intent on defying the Old Omegas’ tales. He was the first pregnant person I’d ever been around and honestly, if you’d asked me then if I ever wanted children I’d probably have said ‘hell no’! Of course then _I_ started feeling tired and achy all the time and when I missed my next scheduled heat I pissed on a stick. Then I sat down on the floor in Peter’s old childhood bedroom and cried for two days straight. I think that’s the only time I’ve ever seen Peter at a loss for words in our entire relationship. He had no idea what to do either. We’d already booked our plane tickets to Peru, you know, we were going to start out there, then see where the journey would take us. Life had other plans, though.”

Derek cocked his head, looking at his aunt in astonishment, a question on his lips that he didn’t quite want to ask.

Zandrine seemed to read his mind, however.

“No. Not really, anyway. When I first found out your uncle told me it was my body and he was going to love and support me and respect my choice, but even though I wanted to scream at the universe for making a mockery of all of my plans, I never seriously considered it. That first night, maybe a little, but then I woke up in Peter’s arms the next morning with both of his hands cupping my stomach protectively and I knew we were both idiots, but that we were also going to love this kid like crazy. It’s hard to explain. I was upset and angry and feeling sorry for myself, but I also loved her from the moment I knew about her. It took a while for that love to win over the self-pity, if I’m completely honest, but once it did there was no going back.”

She smiled, leaning back on her elbows.

“The reason your uncle and I donate to pro-choice candidates and Planned Parenthood every year is because we actually _had_ a choice and so many don’t. We were young and broke and unemployed, but we had a supportive family who would have either chipped in the money for the procedure without judgment or who would have sheltered us and supported us for as long as we needed it to get back on our own feet and support ourselves and the baby. So many Omegas who end up getting an abortion neither have the money nor the support they need to have their babies, which is a fact that the Right really likes to gloss over when they’re busily painting Omegas as sex-crazed selfish heathens who just want to murder their babies for the fun of it. But I don’t have to tell you this, obviously.”

Derek nodded grimly.

“The next time I hear someone talk about third-trimester ‘abortions’ I’m going to punch them in the knot for real! Anyone who uses third-trimester abortions as political propaganda is a monster and if I had my way we wouldn’t even call them abortions at all! Tragedy is far more accurate. As if any Omega on the planet woke up during their seventh or eighth month of pregnancy and suddenly decided ‘Meh, I think this pregnancy thing sucks after all, I’ll better stop it while I still can’! If someone has to undergo a third-trimester abortion it’s nearly always for a medical reason and always, _always_ a fucking tragedy for the entire family! Those so-called family values politicians are pissing on these grieving people every time they exploit their pain for hate-mongering!”

He closed his eyes, feeling them burn as he valiantly tried not to think about the young couple he’d had to tell their baby was severely deformed last year. He’d felt sad and helpless as he’d watched them sob in each other’s arms on his couch, gently explaining the necessary procedure to them. It has spared the Omega from twenty weeks of carrying a baby who wouldn’t live longer than a few minutes, but it had done nothing to soothe their agony.

Zandrine ruffled his hair and Derek opened his eyes again, rubbing them as discreetly as he could.

“The rest, as they say, is history,” Zandrine continued, clearly trying to lighten the mood.

“We canceled the plane tickets, Peter went out and applied for jobs, and through an insane amount of luck he ended up with a job that he actually liked and that came with pretty great benefits, given that he was a mouthy college graduate with no experience. I continued waitressing in the café I’d been working at until my belly got so big I started bumping into the tables and knocking over coffee cups. The bigger I got, the more affectionate and protective Peter got and I know you guys don’t like to hear this, but the fact remains that your uncle is a phenomenal lover and I never knew sex could be this good until he started worshipping my pregnant body.”

She grinned, waving away Derek’s sound of pained protest.

“Then Malia was born and we loved her so very much, even though she cried every night for seven months straight and peed on us in protest every time we changed her diapers. Peter continued being successful at his job and kept getting promotions and when he’d come home he’d play with Malia and I fell in love with him a little bit more each time he made her squeal with happiness. When she turned one, I told Peter I wanted to try for another baby because I wanted Malia to have a sibling close in age and four months later I regretted all of my life choices when I spent two straight weeks puking my guts out. Then Apollo was born and Peter was so gentle with him and so proud of having fathered the first Omega in the family in two generations and it made my heart ache with happiness every time I’d find the three of them asleep in our den, both babies drooling on him and Peter drooling right along with them. I thought about going back to work when Apollo turned one and I spent a couple of months job-hunting, but when I went for my first interview I was already five weeks along with the twins. They were another surprise, by the way, _especially_ when the ultrasound revealed the second baby! After that, the idea of finding a job became little more than an afterthought, more babies kept coming, and since Peter was making more than enough money to support us I finally abandoned it altogether.”

She laughed quietly.

“Peter would have supported me in going back to work one hundred percent, but I realized that even though I would have been perfectly happy working, I loved being pregnant and building a family with Peter even more. I used to get a lot of crap for it from my former best friend from college, by the way. She’s a career Omega, a true example for all of us to look up to, but for all her talk of Omega empowerment she never quite found it in her heart to respect me for finding my calling in motherhood. Again, I could have gone back to work at any time – your nanas offered to babysit so many times those first couple of years that I lost count. Talia even offered me a position as a substitute teacher at the school to dip my toes in the water, but I guess I chose having babies instead. I got to have a choice though, so I’m good with it. Even if that makes me a frustrated little house omega in the eyes of many.”

“Trust me, no one who sees you and Peter looking at each other for even a second would believe you’re frustrated in any sense of the word,” Derek said, lips twitching at the thought.

Zandrine grinned.

“Damn right they wouldn’t, my life is literally one of your Nana Abby’s horrendous romance novels and I couldn’t be happier!”

She looked at him intently, concern in her eyes.

“What about you, little Bear? Are you happy? Vesta was really concerned about you after the parade last week. Apparently your heart sounded really weird and wrong and she didn’t like it. She also mentioned that it started making funny sounds when a pregnant Omega with pretty freckles started talking to you.”

Derek looked away, not sure what to say, and Zandrine patted his hand, her voice soft when she spoke again.

“We’re not going to push you on this, Derek. We all figure you are probably freaking out about it enough as it is because we know how dedicated you are and that you always want to do the right thing. You’ve been trying to act like a wise little man ever since you helped me deliver Malia and maybe you got exposed to the heavy duty adult stuff a little too early for you to take, I don’t know. However, take it from someone who once did the wrong thing and it turned out to be the best mistake I ever made, little Bear - sometimes doing the wrong thing might actually be the right thing.”

She grimaced, her arms wrapping around her belly once more as she paled with alarming speed.

“Oh _god_ ,” she groaned, lurching over and giving in to the morning sickness as she vomited over the edge of the dock.

Derek got to his knees quickly and held on to her shoulders securely, not wanting to explain to Peter that he’d let his pregnant Omega topple over into the lake.

He was feeling sympathetic for his aunt, he was – but he would have been lying if he hadn’t been relieved that he’d been spared a response.

 

===============

 

Derek didn’t have a client projected to give birth until almost four weeks from July 4th, which was why he’d felt comfortable enough to take both the holiday and the following day off from work, aware that his parents and grandmothers would have never asked but that they would appreciate an extra set of capable hands to clean up the aftermath of the annual festivities.

He had spent part of the day picking up forgotten plates, cups, and the occasional pacifier in the garden, more or less enthusiastically assisted by Romulus, Remus, and Thor, who’d been much more interested in throwing sticks for Bernard than actually making their lazy butts useful.

Afterwards, his grandmothers had sent him home with four big containers of left-overs, and he’d spent the rest of the day relaxing in the hammock on his back-porch, occasionally roused by a wet doggy lick to his dangling naked feet.

As a bonus, Independence Day had come and gone with no emergencies and not even a single panicked phone-call of an Alpha fearing the loud fireworks would cause their Omega to go into pre-term labor, a welcome relief from last year, when Independence Day had fallen on the full moon and all of Derek’s five supernatural clients had seemed intent on keeping him from finishing his burger.

As a result, Derek felt well and truly rested when he stepped into the office on the 6th, where he was greeted by a lovely mocha courtesy of Boyd, a beaming Erica who needed only five signatures as opposed to twenty, and a heavily pregnant and heavily displeased about it Genie, who was brandishing her lamp under her arm accusatorily and tearfully informed Derek that she was no longer able to fit into and from the lamp’s small opening and had been forced to go on early maternity leave.

As usual, the ultrasound examination of the little Genie-baby took a bit longer than Derek normally allotted time for, since the child was currently in its formative in-utero shape-shifter phase and kept switching forms at random, which made it a bit trickier than usual to check on its organs.

By the time Derek showed his client out the door with a clean bill of health it was already lunchtime, which he spent on the front porch with Erica, who proceeded to regale him with all the sordid details of her and Boyd’s romantic Independence Day get-away.

Derek highly doubted there had been an actual mishap with a sex-swing, but he appreciated their attempts at taking his mind off of Stiles’ afternoon appointment, which he’d been getting increasingly nervous about all morning.

By the time 3:30 PM rolled around, however, Derek was sufficiently distracted by his work, knee-deep in reviewing the birth-plan his manticore client had left him with and wondering whether they expected _him_ to provide the Persian dates and Persian leopard stew to snack on during the birth or whether they were going to bring their own Tupperware to the birthing pond.

He was so preoccupied that he didn’t even hear the knock, followed by a cough that sounded like a congested hippo and finally snapped him to attention.

When he looked up, Stiles was leaning against the doorframe, smiling sheepishly.

“Sorry, Erica told me to just march right in. I tried knocking at first but you looked like a man questioning all his life choices and I figured I wasn’t going to get your attention that way.”

“It’s fine,” Derek said quickly, getting up and extending his hand with a smile that he hoped to god wasn’t desperate.

Stiles gripped his hand, long fingers firmly grasping Derek’s for a second, and Derek looked down, mesmerized at how strong he was.

 _Here lies the professionalism of Derek Sebastian Hale, it was squeezed out of existence by sinfully long fingers that I just want to lick,_ Derek thought grimly, letting go of Stiles’ hand with all of the willpower he had.

He grabbed his clipboard, forcing himself to switch into professional mode as he let his eyes trail over Stiles’ body, cataloguing all the changes.

It might have been his imagination, but Stiles’ belly was quite a bit rounder than it had been almost two weeks ago, curving out in a graceful arc and dipping down into the stretchy waistband of his paternity jeans.

Stiles was wearing a Wonder Woman shirt this time and Derek bit his lip to stop himself from chuckling, remembering the conversation they’d had at Stiles’ last appointment.

For a second he wondered if Stiles had chosen the shirt deliberately, if he’d remembered that Derek had crushed on Wonder Woman for an embarrassingly long part of his adolescence, but then he shook his head, figuring that a guy like Stiles probably owned a hundred graphic tees.

Stiles coughed, rubbing his belly a little self-consciously.

“Gremlin’s really starting to get big now, my skin’s been itchy as hell from all the stretching. I’m actually getting stretch marks, I’m pretty sure; she seems to be going through a growth spurt. Well, Scott argues that my hot pockets diet had something to do with it, too, but I’m happy to report that I’ve kicked the habit and have since been eating my weight in vegetables and vanilla ice cream with Dijon mustard on top. Yeah, don’t ask, the kid’s super weird, but that just makes me more psyched to be her godfather. I can definitely see her potential. I’m going to teach her so much crap and she’ll annoy Scott to no end – what are best friends for, am I right?”

“Absolutely,” Derek agreed, motioning for Stiles to take a seat on the couch.

“Whoops!” Stiles exclaimed, sitting down a little quicker and less gracefully than he’d obviously been going for.

“Ooof! Sorry, my balance has been a bit off, lately, I haven’t quite gotten used to it yet.”

Derek shook his head, trying hard not to smile.

“Just try to move carefully for now, alright? Your center of gravity will shift even further as the cub grows and we don’t want you to stumble and fall and injure yourself,” Derek told him, consciously noticing for the first time that Stiles was alone in his office.

“Where are Scott and Kira?” he asked, confused, and Stiles shrugged amicably, leaning over to grab a glass of water and helping himself to a cookie from the jar on the couch table.

“Scott and Kira are going to make an offer on the house they’ve been circling like blood-thirsty sharks for the past four weeks. Apparently it has the perfect room for the nursery and is positioned towards the sunrise or something. Kira asked if I wanted her to come with me but the owner is a pretty well-known Omegaist and would have never accepted an offer from an Alpha making all the decisions without his Omega present.”

Stiles took another cookie, munching thoughtfully and taking a sip of his water.

“Which is great, obviously, the worlds needs more of that kind of approach to decision making, let’s be honest about it. So it’s just me today. Well, Gremlin and me, which is so obvious that people can see it from space! Hey, listen, I see those judgmental eyebrows – if you wanted your clients to stop eating junk food you should probably stop providing them with so many cookies. Not that I’m trying to tell you how to run your business or anything. They’re really good by the way, you should try one. No really, please take one, I need someone to pig out alongside me or else I’m really going to start feeling self-conscious about it.”

Stiles grinned and Derek smiled back helplessly, taking a cookie even though he wasn’t particularly hungry.

“My Nana Abby likes to bake. She lives in a house with twelve hungry cubs and a couple of cookie-addicted adult werewolves, but she still manages to bake too much every time. Also, I’m pretty sure Erica would kill me if I put a stop to the bi-weekly cookie deliveries, so there’s that.”

“Good Nana,” Stiles said appreciatively, patting his stomach in satisfaction.

“My Babcia was like that, too, she actually owned and operated a little Polish bakery up in Beacon Heights until the day she died. Mom said it was always her dream to die surrounded by the smell of freshly baked pączki. I miss her. And that is the _only_ reason I am currently crying, just so you know.”

Derek had long gotten into the habit of restocking his Kleenex boxes every time he went shopping, because he had quickly realized that he’d chosen a profession where people cried on him a whole lot for various reasons, but he nevertheless startled when big fat tears started rolling down Stiles’ cheeks from one second to the next.

Stiles wiped them away with an impatient grunt, glaring down at his stomach and sniffling accusatorily.

“It’s been like this for almost two weeks now! Budweiser commercial on television? Boom, tears, because Stiles can no longer drink Budweiser, even though he _hates_ Budweiser! Jackson forgetting to bring donuts to work even though it was his turn and I even sent him a text reminder that I need them like burning because I’m a five months pregnant deputy forced to perform desk duty all damn day because my Dad’s the Sheriff and hovering over me like an overprotective bat out of hell? _Bawling_! It was so embarrassing, I even made the tough gang leader I’d been interrogating blush. Listening to “Bat out of Hell” on my way home just because and crying because it really made me crave meat loaf and there was no meat in the fridge? That’s the new normal for Stiles! Seriously, Gremlin better be super-cute, make Scott and Kira so proud they become even more insufferably adorable, go to Ivy league college with a full scholarship, become president, and bring forth world-peace, because after all this hardship Uncle Stiles deserves it!”

He chuckled, wiping at his eyes, and Derek once more handed over the box of Kleenex, valiantly trying not to let on how deeply his inner Alpha was currently yearning to go on a hunt so he could provide Stiles with the perfect meat loaf.

In a completely professional way, of course.

“Apart from the completely normal mood swings, are there any other concerns you want to talk to me about before I examine you? Anything you googled, perhaps?” he asked, scribbling a note on his clipboard and making a mental note to buy more Kleenex on the way home.

Stiles let out a bark of laughter.

“Uhm … you probably don’t want to know what I’ve been googling, lately. My hormones are kind of going crazy at the moment and with no Alpha around to help me out it’s been … uh … there’s been lots of googling, let’s leave it at that. That’s perfectly normal though, right?

“Perfectly,” Derek said flatly, emphatically thinking of daisies instead of Stiles in the throes of arousal and hating everything.

Stiles cleared his throat, looking a bit uncomfortable all of a sudden, and Derek smiled, hoping he looked reassuring enough.

“Please don’t hesitate to ask me these questions, Stiles. It’s all perfectly normal and since this is your first pregnancy it’s all going to be that much more overwhelming for you,” he said, feeling relieved when Stiles’ guarded expression gave way to amusement again.

“Ok cool, I just didn’t want to overstep. Uhm … should we go take a look at Gremlin, then?”

“In a minute,” Derek replied, deciding to take advantage of Stiles being in his office without Scott and Kira.

He set down his clipboard and grabbed another cookie, encouraging Stiles to take one as well.

“Your pregnancy has been normal and healthy so far, but surrogacy is a unique situation and I just want to make sure everything’s ok on that front.”

“Oh. Oh right, sure,” Stiles said, looking down at his belly and then back up at Derek with a thoughtful expression.

“It’s going ok for the most part. If anything, this is much harder on Scott and Kira than it is on me. I mean, I’m doing the work, technically, but they’re the ones who aren’t going to sleep with their hands resting on their cub at night, you know? They’re really excited about Gremlin, which helps a lot and of course I didn’t say yes to this until I was one hundred and ten percent sure we could all handle it, but I think they weren’t expecting it to be quite so … challenging. In terms of personal space, I mean. Of course they want to be near the cub all the time, but they also don’t want me as the perpetual third wheel to their marriage. Not that I want to either, honestly, I love them and Scott’s my brother in everything but blood, but there’s a limit to how much sickeningly cute and perpetually confused I can take.”

“You’re not their incubator, Stiles. You’re a person with his own life and that can be difficult for expecting parents to grasp in a surrogacy situation,” Derek said seriously and Stiles held up his hands quickly, shaking his head determinedly.

“Oh no, no, no, no, it’s not like that all! It’s just been particularly hard on Kira lately. She’s been working double and triple-shifts so she can take time off after Gremlin is born and she’s got some pretty conservative co-workers who keep telling her they don’t really see the need for her to stay home with the baby for a while, since she won’t be the one dealing with the post-partum bonding-urges.”

Stiles’ heartbeat ticked up at the last word and Derek looked at him in concern.

“Stiles? Is something bothering you?”

Stiles let out a little huff, shaking his head.

“Werewolves and their freaky senses! Sorry, that was speciesist, right? It’s … well … I’ve been reading up on post-partum depression lately and I guess I’m starting to feel a bit freaked out about that. I mean, it’s not my kid and she won’t be near me all the time, so it’s not like it’ll affect the baby, but … I’m just hoping I won’t have to deal with it, is all. Most Omegas who’d acted as a surrogate before said that that was the worst about the entire experience, harder even than giving over the baby to its parents.”

Derek nodded, folding his fingers together as he contemplated his answer.

“It’s a possibility, obviously. The combination of hormone drop after birth and the absence of the cub will do a number on your body chemistry, so we’ll have to monitor your emotional state carefully for the first couple of weeks. I’m trained to recognize it though, and I promise you I’ll look after you for as long as you need after you’ve given birth.”

“Pinky promise?” Stiles asked, smiling, and Derek smiled back, nodding.

“Of course. As for the issue of post-partum-bonding, we’ll have to separate you and the cub for a while after the birth so that Kira and Scott can bond with their baby. That will be a pretty stressful time for you, so we’re going to come up with a comfort strategy that you think might work for you in the weeks before the birth. Of course the whole “I’m going to throw myself off a cliff if I have to surrender this child”-drama level they portray in the movies is really over the top exaggerated, but you need to prepare yourself for some heartache, however temporary it might be. Technically, it shouldn’t be an issue, since your body knows deep-down that the cub isn’t biologically yours, but if you were allowed to actually bond with it after birth the separation might become trickier.”

Stiles nodded, twisting his fingers together like he wasn’t quite sure what to do with them and Derek couldn’t help but notice that he seemed to be avoiding his stomach all of a sudden.

“Yeah. That makes sense, I guess. That’s how adoption works, after all. I mean, of course you’ll always have some assholes who’ll argue that only a biological cub is a proper cub, so to speak, but my friend Jackson was adopted when he was about a week old and his parents bonded to him so completely that I’m pretty sure Mr. and Mrs. Whittemore would waltz down everything and everyone in their path if someone ever took their precious darling Jackson away from them. I don’t think it ever mattered that he wasn’t biologically theirs. Why should it, it’s not like having a biological kid is an insurance against raising the anti-christ or anything.”

He chuckled lightly, looking decidedly sheepish all of a sudden.

“Don’t ever tell Jackson I just called him a friend, alright? He’d never let me live it down and Lydia would be smug for days.”

Derek nodded dutifully, figuring that, based on his short interactions with at the Pride parade, Lydia spent most of her time smug and Jackson never let anyone live down anything on principle.

“Would you like me to take a look at what’s going on inside now so we can make sure that Gremlin’s happy and healthy as can be?” he asked and Stiles nodded enthusiastically, his somber mood dissipating rapidly.

“Yes, that sound’s good to me!” Stiles said, hefting himself off the couch with a little grunt and waving off Derek’s attempt to help with an amused expression.

Like last time, the cub was very active, wiggling around and making it just a tad difficult for Derek to get a good look at its developing organs, but when he’d finally checked everything he needed to he turned towards Stiles, raising his eyebrow questioningly.

“I’ve got a pretty good look here on the child’s chromosomal gender and sex … is that something that Kira and Scott want to know? I could tell you now or I could write it down on a piece of paper, if you want me to.”

Stiles sighed dramatically.

“They don’t want to know, something about the miracle of surprises and the mystery of life, or something equally sappy. I keep telling them the whole delivery is probably going to be one big-ass surprise, but they don’t seem to agree.”

He shrugged, smiling bashfully.

“I kind of want to know, to be honest. Then again, I should be the last person to know. I’m horrible at waiting for something, but I’m also horrible at keeping stuff like this to myself, so I’d probably blurt it out the moment someone used the wrong pronoun. Huh. Not that you can know one hundred percent for sure if you’re using the right pronoun of course, but you know, automatism. So no, don’t tell me. Besides, as long as it’s happy and healthy that’s all that matters anyways.”

He smiled, eyes sparkling.

“I guess that’s a line you hear about one hundred times per week, don’t you? How many times do you think it’s actually genuine?”

Derek snorted.

“40 percent of the time, maybe. People say that because they feel like it makes them horrible parents if they admit otherwise, but the truth is that a lot of people do have a preference one way or the other. Unless, of course, they’ve lost a child before, because something like that puts things into perspective really quickly.”

Stiles nodded thoughtfully, eyes flickering back towards the image of Gremlin.

“Yeah. Scott and Kira have been through so much on this journey to parenthood that I’m pretty sure I could give birth to an elephant and they’d lovingly raise it as their own. Well … not an elephant, maybe. I mean, Gremlin’s barely just become visible and I already feel like I’m going to explode any second, I can’t even imagine trying to fit a baby-elephant in here.”

He sat up with another little grunt, gratefully accepting the washcloth Derek was holding out to him.

“Point is, I’ve known Scott my entire life and back when our teacher told us to draw our future family in Kindergarten he’d always draw his Omega holding their little Alpha firstborn’s hand while he himself was holding an Omega-baby in his arms. It has been his vision of the ideal family for years, but I haven’t heard him mention the baby’s chromosomal gender or sex even once ever since we started this whole process. Kira’s pretty sure it’s an Omega boy, so she’s been looking at some boy clothes on Amazon, lately, but Scott is avoiding the topic like he thinks he’s going to jinx it, somehow.”

“Some people do. Feel like they’ll jinx it. I once had a patient who had such severe anxiety that he wouldn’t let his Alpha buy a single item for the nursery until after the baby had been born. It’s a beautiful experience for most couples, but it can be nerve-wrecking, too.”

“Preach it,” Stiles muttered, resting one hand on the swell of his belly and giving it a soft pat.

“I think I could probably quote _What to Expect When You’re Expecting_ from top to bottom at this point. I’ve read through that stupid book so many times I even came up with a color-coded marking system to keep things interesting. Green stands for _Things Not To Eat_ , which, you must admit, is actually pretty ironic. Blue means _Things Not To Do_ , yellow is _Things That Sound Kind of Cool But Will Probably Freak Me Out When They Actually Happen,_ purple is _Things That Are Super-Gross And I Wish I Could Just Forget_ and red stands for _Things To Tell Scott and Kira Before They Notice Them On Their Own, Draw the Wrong Conclusions, and Freak Like Overprotective Parents Who Freak_.”

Derek chuckled.

“Those categories are quite inspired, indeed. Anything in particular you want to talk to me about before I let you go? Something super-gross, perhaps?”

Stiles barked out a laugh, looking equally amused and horrified.

“I think we’re good for now! Let me just get off this table and then … whoa!”

Derek blinked, his face suddenly so close to Stiles’ that he could have rubbed their noses together by leaning forward just another inch.

It wasn’t until Stiles coughed awkwardly that Derek realized that he’d shot up from his seat to steady the Omega the moment he’d lost his balance on his less than graceful dismount from the examination table.

His hands were grasping the Omega’s waist, or rather, what remained of it, both of his thumbs gently pressing against the Omega’s rounded belly.

He’d touched his belly before, obviously, but this felt more intimate, somehow, their noses still so close Derek could feel Stiles’ warm breath on his skin.

Stiles was staring at him, his gorgeous amber eyes wide and pupils blown, his strong hands resting on Derek’s shoulders and those long fingers tantalizingly close to the Alpha’s neck.

This close, Stiles’ scent was almost overwhelming, rich, warm, and fertile, and Derek wanted to bathe in it, wanted to wrap it around himself like a blanket on a cold winter morning and take it all in until he was drunk with it.

It was time to admit the truth – he _was_ the star of Nana Abby’s smutty romance novels, except with a lot less smut and a lot more heartache, because he was utterly and completely screwed here.

“Sorry!” he exclaimed, at the same time as Stiles said, “Thanks,” the Omega’s voice uncharacteristically soft.

Stiles’ hands were still resting on his shoulders but his thumbs were twitching against Derek’s collarbones, tracing an invisible line as if he wasn’t even aware he was doing it.

Derek’s collarbones had always been a sensitive spot for him and it was too much, too intimate, too promising of things he’d spent the better part of the month telling himself he couldn’t have, couldn’t even ask for.

His hands dropped from Stiles’ waist like it was hot to the touch and he took a step backwards, only to trip right over his examination stool and lose his balance himself.

Stiles’ eyes widened even further in alarm and then he lurched forward, strong hands grasping Derek’s upper arms to steady him and keep him from falling over.

As a result, Stiles’ adrenaline spiked, sending out a fresh wave of his scent. If this _had_ been a romance novel, Derek thought bitterly, that scent would have made him go weak in the knees right then and there, causing both of them to tumble to the ground in a pile of limbs and proceed to have the hottest, dirtiest, and yet most romantic sex in the history of sexy times.

Explicitly described in flowery alliterations, of course.

Unfortunately, tumbling to the ground was not exactly what Derek would have prescribed for his pregnant patients and so he went for mortification instead, feeling his heart in his throat and his ears burning bright red as he gently untangled himself from Stiles’ grip.

“You sure you’re a werewolf?” Stiles asked, a teasing smile on his lips, but the look in his eyes was heavy, intense, too much for Derek to take, really.

The look in Stiles’ eyes said that maybe he wouldn’t have minded tumbling to the ground with Derek, that maybe he wouldn’t shy away if Derek closed the distance between them right now … and that was a factor in the equation of his messed up love-life that Derek hadn’t allowed himself to consider at all, completely throwing his math out of whack.

“I … yeah,” he said, feeling off kilter, confused, hopeful, and utterly paralyzed.

Stiles narrowed his eyes, as if he was waiting for more, but Derek’s tongue was heavy in his throat and he couldn’t do much except stare helplessly.

His wolf knew exactly what he was supposed to do. His wolf, in fact, was scrambling inside his skin to grab Stiles, carry him to their den, and provide for him, but Derek the man was still his midwife and still had a responsibility.

There were a lot of conflicting desires and responsibilities inside him, was basically Derek’s problem.

“Uh …” he started again, wetting his lips when they stuck together.

“Are you ok?”

Stiles blinked.

“Huh? Oh … oh yeah, yeah, sure. I mean … yeah. Thanks for saving Gremlin from getting squashed; Uncle Stiles really needs to get that under control. Uhm … listen, I need to run because I have another appointment after this, but I’ll see you soon, ok?”

Derek nodded, trying not to despair over the sudden spike of anxiety in Stiles’ scent, the way he looked like he was itching to get away.

 _Say something! Idiot!_ Derek’s wolf whined, but Derek couldn’t.

Derek couldn’t, because he had smelled arousal on Stiles when he’d touched him, had seen the interest in Stiles’ eyes when they’d been just inches away from his face, and Derek desperately needed to re-evaluate this situation completely before saying something to mess it up.

Given his track record in everything related to romance, that was, unfortunately, a real possibility.

“Ok, so … bye for now?” Stiles said, more a question than a statement, and Derek nodded, wide-eyed.

“Bye,” he said softly.

It sounded like ‘stay’ even to his own ears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies to Japanese tourists, this was meant in good fun :) (if you've ever seen a group of Japanese tourists at Castle Neuschwanstein, you'll know they're a cultural phenomenon in itself - similar to the phenomenon of German tourists marking their territory with bath towels at pools in all-inclusive hotels all over the world :).)
> 
> Next up: Stiles takes on a case that conveniently requires him to pay an unscheduled visit to Beacon Hills and Derek gets an alarming call.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year, my Lovelies!
> 
> At long last, the next chapter :). 
> 
> Hope you enjoy :).

“Easy, easy, there you go, just one more push, you got this! Boyd! Get over here!”

Derek winced when the laboring Bigfoot let out an ear-splitting yowl and tensed his muscles, stepping aside to make room for Boyd.

The Bigfoot roared again, bearing down, and Derek thrust his hands forward at the same time as Boyd did, just in time to catch the massive head that had just emerged from the Bigfoot’s birth-canal.

“Easy, Minuette, not so fast!” Derek instructed, smiling encouragingly when the female Bigfoot let out a growl of protest.

“Slowly, carefully, that’s it, that’s good, you’re doing so good!” Derek praised as the rest of the cub emerged inch-by-inch. As expected, it was nearly as big as a fully-grown cow and almost too heavy even for two werewolves.

Boyd let out a grunt as they gently lowered the cub’s head and then suddenly the rest of the cub was out, safely nested on the mountain of pillows Derek had placed between Minuette’s legs for exactly that reason.

“Told you he would be a big one!”

Derek let out a relieved laugh and motioned for Boyd to hand him the industrial sized suction device he needed to clear the babe’s nose and mouth.

The baby Bigfoot started mewling almost immediately and Minuette bent over to sniff her cub, her big furry face ecstatic and tears of joy rolling down her cheeks and dropping off her nose.

Derek was quick enough to escape the splash zone but Boyd wasn’t quite as lucky, letting out a yelp when one teardrop landed right on top of his head and drenched him completely.

“Every damn time!” Boyd groaned, looking like a drenched poodle and glaring.

Derek barked out a laugh, relief flooding through him as he watched Minuette nuzzle her cub.

The Bigfoot’s 45th pregnancy had been just as easy-going as usual, a fact that Derek could attest to because he himself had been responsible for delivering Minuette’s seven youngest cubs, but Derek had nevertheless been nervous because of the Alpha cub’s size, significantly bigger than his Omega twin siblings Minuette had delivered the previous year.

Alpha or Omega, delivering a Bigfoot cub was a two-person job at least, and Derek patted Boyd’s soaking back gratefully, barely able to stop himself from laughing again at Boyd’s thoroughly resigned expression.

Minuette let out a series of grunts and growls and Derek cocked his head, concentrating.

The Bigfoot lady was able to understand English just fine but her vocal cords weren’t made for human languages, which was why Derek had picked up a little of the Bigfoot language in the years he’d been taking care of her.

His knowledge was still limited, however, so it took him three tries to understand what she was telling him.

When he did, he swore he could actually feel his heart swelling.

“Are you sure? Wow … I mean, thank you, I’m honored!”

Minuette huffed affectionately, reaching out one of her massive paws to very gently pat Derek’s shoulder with her pinky finger.

Derek grinned up at her, then looked down at his mewling little namesake.

“Welcome to the world, Derek, I hope you’re going to like it here,” he said softly, carding his fingers through the damp fur and gently scratching behind the cub’s ears.

Boyd grinned, nudging Derek’s shoulder.

“A Bigfoot named Derek? I can see it,” he mused, dutifully holding out the various instruments Derek needed to check the cub for any abnormalities.

“He’s a healthy little Alpha boy, congratulations, Minuette!” Derek said after a moment, wincing apologetically when Minuette let out a huff of disapproval.

“I know, I know, _little_ probably isn’t the right word. I think he looks like Beauregard though, don’t you?” Derek asked and Minuette let out a tired huff, her lips stretched into a proud smile.

“That would explain why he’s bigger than an ox, at least,” Boyd remarked, looking around curiously.

“Where is Beau anyways? Shouldn’t he have been pacing around here tearing up the grass in anxiety?” the Omega asked, looking at Minuette with a raised eyebrow.

Minuette let out another series of grunts and Derek winced once more, this time in sympathy.

“The twins are teething and Minuette didn’t want them to be left alone,” Derek translated and Boyd nodded in understanding, his expression indicating that he, too, wouldn’t have left a teething Bigfoot to its own devices.

In general, Derek had always been impressed with how disciplined Minuette and Beauregard’s brood was. They were polite, picked up after themselves, and had never given other wood creatures or the preserve rangers any trouble, but teething Bigfoot toddlers had a tendency to chew up massive trees, which was bound to ruffle the feathers of the local Fairy Beaver population.

Minuette let out a questioning grunt and Derek shook his head quickly, patting her leg apologetically.

“Sorry, you know the drill. I won’t let you go until I’m sure the afterbirth is taken care of and you aren’t going to bleed out on me on the track back to your den. It shouldn’t be long now, though, maybe the cub would like to nurse before you go?”

As if he had been listening, the cub let out a little grunt, confirming that he was indeed quite hungry. Minuette chuckled, carefully picking him up and placing him on her chest so he could latch on.

“Derek?” Boyd said pleadingly, looking like a man regretting all of his life choices.

“I’ll buy you an extra large mocha with a scone,” Derek said quickly, moving back into position to see if everything was going according to plan.

“My family owns the café. Better make that diamonds,” Boyd muttered, seconds before a loud splat cut off his words.

Derek winced.

Diamond earrings it was.

 

==============

 

“I’m just saying. If I’m not getting laid tonight then you’re going to buy me the new Apple watch. Plus the earrings.”

“I can’t even smell it anymore,” Derek said encouragingly, holding open the door to _Vern & Lynn’s Corner_, the small family-owned café that Boyd’s grandparents Adalynn and Vernon had founded in the 1960s.

Boyd raised his eyebrows, looking incredibly unimpressed.

Back in the woods he had graciously refused Minuette’s offer to clean him with her tongue and had taken a long bath in the stream instead, while Derek had given Minuette the usual instructions to come see him six weeks after her next heat before allowing her to leave with her newborn.

“I know they’re hippies who don’t believe in birth-control, but how many kids do you think they’ll have until they’ll finally go insane?” Boyd wondered as they sat down at the counter, signaling for Nana Adalynn to get him a large mocha.

“Well, Minuette is unusually fertile, even for a Bigfoot. She says she hasn’t gone a heat without getting pregnant ever since she and Beauregard mated back in the 70s. Based on Bigfoot life-spans, I’m guessing she has about ten years left before she goes into menopause,” Derek replied with a small grin.

“Oh joy,” Boyd muttered, but there was no heat in it, so Derek decided not to comment.

In the meantime, Boyd’s grandmother had placed a steaming mug of hot cocoa in front of him, not even needing to be asked.

Derek grabbed the mug and inhaled deeply, his nostrils flaring when he was overwhelmed with the scent of cocoa, pine trees, and apple pie fresh out of the oven, sweet, ripe, fertile, _heady_ , and …

Derek almost dropped his mug when he whirled around, only to snap right back and stare at the counter with his heart beating out of his chest.

Beside him, Boyd moved his head a fraction of an inch and then nodded in understanding, mouthing, “Smooth,” under his breath.

Derek ignored him, taking a couple of careful breaths through his mouth before he trusted himself to turn back around, only to come face to face with a sheepishly smiling Stiles, dressed in his deputy uniform and one large folder tucked under his arm.

“Derek! Hey Boyd! What a nice surprise!” Stiles said brightly and for a second Derek was almost sure he had imagined the slight uptick in Stiles’ heartbeat.

“Stiles. How are you doing?” he asked, getting in a couple of discreet sniffs automatically and nodding to himself when all he could smell was healthy pregnant Omega and healthy growing cub.

“Oh, you know, the usual for a twenty-weeks pregnant Omega. Still crying at Budweiser commercials, quickly outgrowing every piece of clothing I have ever owned, and starting to seriously wonder if my feet are just going to stay this size forever,” Stiles replied, patting his belly fondly.

“Also, I’m pretty sure Gremlin has been moving around some, but if you ask Jackson it’s probably gas, so I haven’t told Scott and Kira about it yet.”

“It won’t be long now until those kicks will become unmistakable. The first one’s always a bit tricky,” Derek said, eyes tracking the movement of Stiles’ fingers when he rubbed his belly once more.

Stiles nodded, grinning.

“Awesome! It’ll be nice to know for sure that Gremlin’s doing ok. At least Scott can hear her heartbeat, so they always know she’s ok. All I can do, however, is operate on instinct and I’d just rather have facts. Obviously,” he said, holding up his thick folder with a shrug.

“You working on a case? I thought you got desk duty until the birth?” Boyd asked from behind Derek, sounding mildly curious.

Stiles’ smile widened, making him look rather mischievous.

“Oh … yeah, kind of. Technically, the case is already solved since we caught the infamous Garden Gnome Romeo a couple of months ago. However, I read through the file the other day and I realized that there were also quite a few reports of scandalous garden gnome activity in Beacon Hills that we never followed up on. So I thought hey, better go and make sure that there’s no copycat running around town to steal the virtue of innocent garden gnomes. My dad thinks I left early because I wanted to try prenatal yoga, so don’t tell on me,” Stiles explained, holding a finger to his lips with a cheeky grin.

“Garden Gnome Romeo?” Derek asked, perplexed, and Stiles raised one eyebrow, head cocked to the side in astonishment.

“Don’t tell me you didn’t hear of the Beacon Heights Garden Gnome Romeo? Our social media accounts even made state-wide headlines, it was quite the excitement!”

“Derek doesn’t do social media,” Boyd explained helpfully and Derek felt his ears heat when Stiles shook his head disapprovingly.

“I’ll have you know, you missed out, because I was responsible for the social media accounts at the time and my pun-game has never been better! In any case, you missed the truly scandalous tale of one very horny woodland fairy that vandalized gardens all over Beacon Heights for months. Turns out the little dude had a sex addiction and really got off on fucking … sorry, _making love_ to garden gnomes, so he’d sneak into gardens late at night and drill little holes in the gnomes’ butts or mouths so he could have his way with them. Thing is, fairy jizz is quite potent, so every time he spilled some on the ground the next morning there’d be wild infestations of literal sex-pollen flowers all over the gardens. Seriously, how did you miss that story?”

Stiles shook his head, eyes twinkling, and Derek shrugged again, feeling his flush spread from his ears down to his cheeks.

“It took us a while to catch on to what was happening, because at first the fairy only had his way with garden gnomes in people’s backyards. I mean, what kind of Alpha would call the police if their Omega came back inside from gardening and then ripped their clothes off and sat on their knots for 10 hours? Problem was, he got a bit kinky after a while and went for the front yard gnomes, so we suddenly had reports of pizza delivery guys, postal workers, and one rather overzealous Jim Bob’s Witness hooking up with home-owners in broad daylight all over the city.”

Derek winced, not sure whether he was expected to laugh or cry.

Stiles noticed his expression and immediately held up his hands, shaking his head.

“Dude no, it wasn’t the rapey kind of sex-pollen, it was more a … how did our biology expert put it … a suggestive aphrodisiac. You know, one of these true-love-strands they sometimes put in the movies where it makes you horny but you only act on it if you’re genuinely attracted to the person next to you and the desire was already there. The little dude was from one of these hippie-fairy-covens that are still living in the 60s and 70s, and he was genuinely in love with those garden gnomes when he fucked them, so the jizz wasn’t malignant. Don’t look at me like that, I don’t make the rules of magic, I don’t know how this shit works!”

Stiles grinned and Derek relaxed again, busying his hands by taking another sip of his cocoa.

“How did you catch him, then?” he asked, curious, and Stiles’ grin widened impossibly, his chest puffing out a little with pride.

“I was on that task-force, actually. We’d figured out a pattern in which he was moving and so we were able to catch him in the act during a three-way with – get this – a Captain Kirk and a Mr. Spock garden gnome! He confessed everything, of course, and he’s in sex-addiction therapy now. On the plus side, I hear he saved a couple of marriages along the way _and_ the God-squad seems to have found a way to biblically justify the fact that one of their own went and fathered not one, not two, but _nineteen_ illegitimate kids.”

“Seems like he broke up a couple of marriages, too, then,” Derek commented and Stiles snorted, depositing his file on the counter and patting the stool next to Derek.

“You’d think, but surprisingly that wasn’t the case at all. Turns out, most of the Omegas that dude hooked up with were single and the four married ones … well … as a church, Jim Bob’s Witnesses are tax-exempt, so they had a shitload of money ready and available to throw at these families to stop them from causing a scene. I met one of the married Omegas at pregnant swimming class last week and he said that his Alpha was a bit miffed at first, but then she realized she could buy the new IPhone now. Apparently she’s been chill about the situation ever since. Hey, you mind if I sit here, my lower belly’s started getting kind of twingy if I stand too long.”

“Belly support bands can help you with that. It’s your round ligaments, probably,” Derek said, not quite able to keep the concern out of his voice when he saw Stiles wince.

He promptly felt a bit silly about feeling concern over something that was completely normal and quite common, and he could easily imagine Boyd’s judgmental eyebrows behind him, even without seeing his friend’s face.

Stiles nodded, swinging himself onto the stool with only a little bit of hesitation. Once he’d gotten comfortable his hands dropped to his rounded abdomen once more, massaging the gentle swell with both hands.

“Oh yeah, definitely, I know I should start wearing them, it’s just been so hot lately and the thought of adding more layers to my skin hasn’t sounded all that appealing. Then again, I’m sure it’ll help with the back issues, too, so I probably shouldn’t find excuses anymore.”

He shrugged, smiling at Derek apologetically.

“Sorry, I don’t want to bother you with work stuff while you’re relaxing with your … is that _cocoa_ I smell?”

Derek flushed again, not quite sure what to do with the sheer amount of delight that had spread all over Stiles’ expressive face.

“Most people automatically assume dear Derek’s one of those people who drink their coffee as black as their souls. We think it’s the eyebrows, but he can scowl all he wants, the sweet and fluffy marshmallow insides always shine through!”

Boyd’s grandmother had appeared out of nowhere, reaching over the counter to simultaneously hand Stiles his own mug of cocoa and pinch Derek’s cheek like he was five, grinning in the devious way that Derek had long come to associate with meddling nanas.

“It’s a habit,” Derek explained quickly before Adalynn could impart even more wisdom about his character.

“Back when I was growing up, my Nana Abby would make us hot cocoa every time we did a good job with something, whether that was helping her with gardening, cleaning our room, or – in my oldest cousin and sister Cora’s cases – not having broken stuff the entire day. I don’t always have the opportunity, but if I can, I like to drink a mug of cocoa after a successful birth,” Derek explained, smiling bashfully.

Stiles chuckled softly, his eyes warm and fond as he looked at Derek over the rim of his cocoa cup.  

Behind them, Boyd suddenly cleared his throat.

“Snuggles, Derek! Don’t forget the Omega snuggles that always come complimentary! I was an adult when I joined the Hale pack, technically, but once you’re in you get full access to hot cocoa and some Nana Abby-Snuggle action for a job well done. I’d snuggle you right now, of course, but I think I can still see Bigfoot gunk under my fingernails, so I think I’ll go take a bath instead. You two have fun, the cupcakes are particularly good today!”

Boyd grinned, waved them a little salute, and then hopped over the counter, ducking away from his grandmother when she chastised him.

“Boyd’s Nana has a little apartment upstairs,” Derek explained and Stiles sighed, long fingers tapping the counter.

“I remember a time when I could jump across counters like that. No jumping with Gremlin on board, though, she’s very particular about that. The other day I tried to roll onto my stomach, just out of habit, and boy was she unhappy with me! I know I said that most of the time I can’t really tell if it’s baby or gas, but that time I was pretty damn confident she was letting me know she did _not_ appreciate the squashing! I guess my dad does have a point with the desk duty, even though I’m bored to tears with it already.”

“Clearly you’ve found a way out of desk duty. Copycat, you said?” Derek asked, amused.

Stiles snorted, patting the folder on the counter.

“ _Potential_ copycat. Just making sure the front yards in Beacon Hills remain undisturbed. Trust me, driving around town to check out the virtue of garden gnomes is way more fun than being stuck at your desk and having the other deputies hand you pity-cases. And when I say pity-cases I mean cases that could be solved by a five year old! No fun or excitement whatsoever, we can’t have the pregnant Omega over-exert himself, obviously! I like them, I do, but believe me, being a pregnant Omega in an Alpha-dominated work place is no fun for anyone. Even _Jackson’_ s discovered his inner Alpha and has started treating me like I’m made of glass, even though he looks like it deeply pains him to do so. It’s nice to get a break from all that for a change.”

His grin seemed a bit too forced and Derek had no idea what to respond.

Well.

Derek of a couple of months ago would have been quick to agree with him that such behavior was outdated, ridiculous, and unnecessary, that pregnant Omegas were just as capable of fending for themselves as they were in any other situation in their lives and that treating them like they weren’t well aware of the limits of their own body was disrespectful.

Derek of now still agreed with all of that.

In theory.

However, Derek of now also felt like he owed an apology to the many overbearing Alphas he’d admonished in the past, because Derek of now was slowly starting to realize that being a chill and modern Alpha about an Omega’s pregnancy wasn’t quite as easy when one also wanted to drown themselves in said Omega’s honey-amber eyes.

Amongst other, more or less inappropriate desires that Derek was getting decidedly less conflicted, but yet increasingly more desperate about.

Less conflicted, for sure, because now that he was sitting right next to Stiles again, the Omega’s interest was unmistakable.

It wasn’t just the soft smell of arousal that got just that little bit more intense every time Stiles’ eyes raked across Derek’s body, it was also in his eyes – warm but searching, curious, a bit guarded, but also anticipatory, like he was waiting for Derek to give himself away at last.

More importantly, it was in his body language, very clearly acknowledging Derek’s wolf side, because there was no other explanation for the way in which he’d been angling his body towards Derek ever since he’d sat down, neck always slightly bent to expose a delicate strip of pale, mole-dotted skin.

Also, there were his thighs, strong and lean, with just a little extra bit of softness so common among the members of the population that could bear children. Right now, those thighs were spread just wide enough for Derek to dive in and make himself at home between the Omega’s legs, just wide enough for him to nuzzle against the softness and inhale, breathing in the sweet, heady, _fertile_ scent of the Omega’s …

_Dude! Stop it!_

Derek the man was not at all impressed with Derek’s wolf, which, he was pretty sure, was currently wagging its tail and panting like the horn dog it clearly was.

Derek the man was going to ignore the whiff of pheromones Stiles was sending in his direction every time he shifted slightly, because Derek the man had sat through his werewolf family’s very uncomfortable sex-ed talks more than enough times to know how invasive, inappropriate, and unfair it was to use their sniffing advantage in this context.

Derek the man had also zoned out, apparently, because Stiles was tapping his knee, looking … not amused, exactly, but like he knew exactly what Derek was thinking about, his eyes just a little bit darker than they had been.

Hence, Derek’s desperation on the subject, because he genuinely cared about Stiles, his happiness, and his general well-being – which meant, first and foremost, that Derek was very invested in Stiles making it through the pregnancy healthy and happy as could be while receiving the best care possible.

It wasn’t that Derek thought there weren’t any other midwives qualified enough to offer that type of care to him. In fact, he could have named a handful of midwives right off the bat that he would have trusted to take care of Stiles without hesitation.

He was just painfully aware of the fact that none of these people lived close enough to be an option, which meant that his wolf could whine all he wanted, Derek just … couldn’t.

“Derek? Earth to Derek?”

Stiles’ hand was still resting on his knee, an innocent touch that still made the werewolf shiver.

Stiles dropped his hand in response, looking uncertain for the first time since he’d stepped into the café.

_Well … at least I’m not the only one who’s uncertain, here_ Derek thought grimly, forcing himself to smile.

“Sorry, I zoned out there for a bit. This is something I hear a lot from my clients, actually, though I must admit I rarely get clients who work in professions that are almost all Alpha. You’re right, of course. Alphas should stop justifying their actions with biology when it comes to a lot of things, but it _is_ hard for us to ignore our protective instincts.”

Stiles sighed, stretching his back a little and placing both hands on his belly.

“It’s not like I don’t get it, you know? Sure, as an Omega I can’t quite imagine what it must feel like for an Alpha to see pregnant Omegas throwing themselves into danger, but I _do_ know what it does to my own instincts to see someone hurt and suffering. It took more tries than I care to admit for me to able to make it through a domestic dispute call without completely losing my shit. I can control myself now, but that only means that I expect it from everybody. _Especially_ Alphas, given how you guys are supposed to be – how does the alt right put it – less prone to hysterics and more stable and of sane mind. Ha. Ha, ha, ha. No offense.”

“None taken. I didn’t vote for him either,” Derek said grimly, taking a large, comforting sip of his cocoa because … well.

Because.

Stiles raised his own mug and nodded solemnly.

“Biology is a funny thing. Useful for some things, a royal pain in the ass more often than not,” the Omega mused after a moment, eyeing the cupcake display on the edge of the counter with unmistakable interest.

“It’s not like I don’t understand where those instincts are coming from. Alphas are physically stronger and usually bigger, so they got saddled with the overprotective urges that would allow them to fight off any danger towards their families. Omegas are the second line of defense, so to speak, the ones who nurture and care, and make sure that our Alphas are strong enough to defend us in the first place.”

Derek smiled, signaling for Adalynn and pointing towards the cupcake display.

“True. My Alpha mother would have sensed a threat ten miles away, but my Omega dad was always a lot quicker to notice if my sisters or I were feeling bad. I remember one time in particular, just before Cora was born. I was five and Laura was seven and we and our parents had been invited to this big party thrown at the high school, where my mom had just been promoted to vice principal. They had this huge cake at the party, shaped like a pirate ship because of the school mascots, so of course there was tons of ganache and fondant icing on it. It was amazing. Until we were on our way back and it suddenly wasn’t.”

Stiles chuckled, raising one eyebrow when Adalynn set a big cupcake in front of him.

“I can see where this is going, I think. Let me guess, the car was never the same afterwards?”

Derek smiled sheepishly.

“Yeah. My mom didn’t notice, but Dad kept giving us looks in the rear view mirror as soon as Mom started the car. I remember wondering why he looked so concerned, because I felt completely fine. Werewolves hardly ever get sick, so I didn’t recognize something was up right until about five seconds before I started projectile vomiting all over the car. That triggered Laura, obviously, and from there it was just mayhem and chaos.”

Stiles laughed, the earlier tension completely gone from his features.

“I can imagine that vividly, actually. It’s totally true, by the way. I can’t explain it, but the closer we are to a person, the quicker we can tell if something’s not right, emotionally or physically. The idea of not being able to do something can be almost physically painful and of course all bets are off when a little one is involved.”

Derek nodded, looking down to where Stiles was once more resting both hands over his belly protectively; clearly not even aware he was doing it.

“It’s the same for Alphas. The closer we are to someone, the more overprotective we become, because the idea of them not being happy, healthy, and safe can be unbearable. Especially when it comes to cubs or Omegas who are particularly vulnerable … for example during pregnancy.”

Stiles rolled his eyes, but his smile was warm, if a bit wistful.

“Yeah, yeah. I get it. Doesn’t mean I can’t be annoyed about it. After all, I … oh, sorry, let me get this.”

Stiles hastily grabbed for his phone, which had started playing “The Puppy Song”.

“Hey, Scotty, what’s up? Sure, no problem, I can … oh you mean right now? Uh … well, I’m actually not in Beacon Heights right now, but I can be there in 45 minutes. Ish. Does that work for you guys? Awesome! What? No, no, no, don’t you dare apologize! Not for this anyway. You are, however, most welcome to apologize for making me watch that birthing documentary with you guys last week. That shit was traumatizing! Alright, see you in a little while!”

He hung up, looking down at his belly fondly.

“Well, Gremlin, looks like you’re in for a treat tonight, because your mommy and daddy are coming over to bring me awesome food in exchange for some belly-time! Think you can play nice and maybe put a little more effort into that kicking business? I’m sure they’d like to be there for the first real one!”

He poked his belly playfully, and then looked back up at Derek.

“Sorry, I have to go. Kira and Scott are in need of some bonding time with Gremlin and I’m never going to say no to free food, pregnant or not. Now where’s my wallet, didn’t I …”

“I got it,” Derek said quickly, pulling Stiles’ empty plate away from him.

“Even though I could clearly feel you judge me for the empty calories all the way to Sunday?” Stiles asked teasingly and Derek shrugged, the corners of his mouth twitching.

“I did kind of order it for you, didn’t I? Don’t worry about it, it’s my treat,” he said, watching Stiles pocket his wallet.

“Such a good provider,” Stiles muttered fondly, only to freeze, looking at Derek like a deer caught in the headlights.

“ _Healthcare_ provider! Obviously! So … uh … yeah … I’m just going to go now. But seriously, thank you Derek. I enjoyed talking to you. I really did.”

Derek generously estimated that his heartbeat would be back to normal right around next Sunday, probably, but he somehow managed to unstick his suddenly dry tongue from his mouth to reply.

“You’re welcome.”

His gaze dropped down to the folder, once more tucked under Stiles’ arm.

“I hope your colleagues ease up on you a little. And if not, you can always come back here. To check out the virtue of garden gnomes. And stuff.”

Stiles’ slightly panicked expression smoothed out, his eyebrows rising playfully.

He cocked his head, once more exposing that delicate strip of pale throat.

“Careful. I might just take you up on that.”

_Yes! Do that! Take me up on it! Preferably in my bed! I’ll provide for you all night long!_

Derek the wolf had clearly noticed the way in which Stiles’ voice had gotten just a little bit deeper, full of promises Derek couldn’t yet bring himself to make.

Derek the man had also noticed – and was painfully aware that he was more screwed than ever.

“Maybe you should.”

Stiles had already reached the door of the café but he turned around, flashing Derek an indecipherable smile.

“You know … I just might.”

 

===========

 

“The situation is as follows. He likes me. I like him. A lot. It’s a disaster,” Derek told his dog over breakfast a week later, choosing to take Bernard’s rather wet doggy-kiss as a sign of compassion instead of a greedy attempt to get at the last of bacon grease in the corner of his mouth.

“I mean … I could do something about it. I could end our professional relationship, tell him how I feel, and then go with him to his new midwife appointment so I can impress upon my colleague what will happen to them if Stiles gets harmed at any point during the process. Huh? Yeah, I know, I think it’s a shitty idea, too,” Derek agreed with his nephew, getting up from where he’d been rocking him in the nursery to go find Laura and get her to change the baby’s diaper.

“And that’s if he agrees to go out with me at all, which, frankly, he would be insane to do, because he’s twenty weeks surrogate-pregnant with a possible Kitsune-werewolf cub and that’s really enough stress for one person to handle, don’t you think?” Derek asked his as-of-now youngest cousin, shaking his head in exasperation when Bob stubbornly pushed the spoonful of pureed banana out of his mouth, clearly not on board with eating solids yet.

“You’re overthinking this, Derek,” Zandrine commented, patting Derek’s back on her way to the fridge to get more ginger ale.

“I know you think you’re doing the noble thing by protecting his virtue and not making a move, but trust me, if that kid is really developing feelings for you this can’t continue on for much longer. He’s five months pregnant and his hormones and emotions aren’t going to become more stable from here on out, as you should very well know. If he likes you and you like him, you have to at least talk about it. Otherwise, what’s going to end up happening is that he’s going to come see you more and more frequently and he’s going to smell more and more miserable and then you’re going to be angsty, and then he’s going to get even more upset, and that’s just a whole lot of bad emotions that no one needs.”

Derek rubbed a hand across his eyes, cursing softly when he accidentally smeared banana puree into them.

“Oh yeah? What happened to trying to let me figure this out for myself?”

Zandrine shook her head mournfully, gesturing at the baby.

“You’re currently trying to get relationship advise from an infant! You’re officially hopeless and we, the people who love you, feel like we have to step in!”

“We don’t actually, because we trust you to figure this out for yourself, little bear,” Talia interrupted, picking up Bob with one arm and taking the banana puree cup from Derek with her free hand in one practiced move.

“That being said, we love you and we don’t want to see you get hurt. And that’s all we have to say on the matter. Isn’t that right Zandrine?”

“Crystal clear,” Zandrine snapped, taking a careful sip of her ginger ale and staring at Talia incredulously when her sister-in-law successfully coaxed a spoonful into Bob’s mouth.

“How did you just do that?” Zandrine asked, looking a bit offended, and Talia grinned, kissing the baby’s head.

“Well … I _am_ the Alpha,” she said, managing to sound both smug and affectionate.

Derek chuckled, making a grab for his phone when it started buzzing in his jeans pocket.

“Derek Hale, how can I help you?”

“Derek! This is Scott! Thank god I reached you! You need to come, quickly! It’s Stiles! He’s collapsed!”

Later, Derek would feel bad for upending the entire dinner table in his haste to jump up, destroying Nana Greta’s favorite coffee mug in the process.  

Now, however, Derek was a wolf on a mission and his mate was hurt.

The fact that said mate wasn’t, in fact, his mate, was completely beside the point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Up: Scott is a nervous first-time dad and things are about to Sterek up a notch.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go, my Lovelies, I didn't want to drag out that cliff-hanger for too long :). Hope you enjoy!

Typing an address into your touch-screen navigation system with clawed fingers was a challenge.

Keeping yourself from speeding when all you could think about was _collapsed, collapsed, collapsed_ was essentially futile and Derek was pretty sure he’d just triggered a speed camera when he raced past the entry-sign of Beacon Heights.

Stopping himself from imagining Stiles out cold on the floor, pale and lifeless, was downright impossible and when Derek jumped out of his car and rushed towards Scott and Kira’s front door, he braced himself for the absolute worst.

“Derek, heyyyyy …” Scott said when he opened the door, hands reaching out for him, but Derek flew right past him, searching for Stiles’ scent.

“Derek, wait …” Kira yelped, suddenly appearing in front of him, but Derek darted around her effortlessly, burst into the living-room and … used every ounce of control he’d ever possessed to keep himself from standing and _not_ sagging to the floor in bone-less, overdramatic, and wholly and completely unprofessional relief.

“Reports of my death were _greatly_ exaggerated! I’m going to state that for the record right now, just so you know!”

With his heartbeat still rushing in his ears and his bones slowly-jellifying themselves, Derek noted a number of things in quick succession.

Firstly, Stiles was very definitely not out cold on the floor, pale, or lifeless.

Secondly, his heartbeat was steady and so was the cub’s, thumping along happily and at a much healthier pace than Derek’s.

Thirdly, he didn’t smell like he was in any kind of emotional or physical distress, though Derek could detect a tiny hint of annoyance when Stiles leveled a glare of sizable proportions at Scott.

Fourthly, he was wearing a red tank top over low-slung basketball shorts, the latter of which revealed surprisingly hairy legs and toned calves and the former of which didn’t just highlight the soft curve of his belly but also showed off his strong shoulders, collarbones, and even more moles dotting his soft skin.

Derek wasn’t going to pay attention to that right this second, obviously, because his inner wolf _and_ Alpha were still in protect- rather than devour-mode, but he was going to file that information away for later, possibly in the context of imagining those toned calves straddling his sides while Stiles bounced up and down on his knot.

That, however, was for later.

Right now, Derek needed to figure out what had happened in the first place.

“What happened?” he exclaimed, crossing the remaining distance to Stiles and dropping down in front of him.

He only barely stopped himself from taking the pregnant Omega’s hand and completely ignored the rest of the room’s occupants, which included Scott, Kira, Jackson, Lydia, and a curly-haired guy Derek didn’t know, having only eyes for Stiles.

Stiles let out a heavy sigh, head thumping back against the couch, and Derek noticed two more things.

One, Stiles’ feet were currently stuck in a bucket of cold water and two, it seemed like his friends had stuffed every single pillow in the house in between him and the couch to make him comfortable.

Judging by his resigned expression, Stiles had experienced more comfortable situations in his life.

“Scott? You want to elaborate on that?” Stiles asked, raising one eyebrow judgmentally.

Scott blushed.

“Uhm … I _might_ have overreacted a little.”

“Might have? A _little_?”

Stiles snorted, looking down at Derek with a shake of his head.

“Alright, here’s what happened. It’s really fucking hot today, right? And ok, sure, I probably should have had a little more water than I did, but in my defense, Gremlin has recently discovered my bladder and it’s been a real pain in the ass to have to go seemingly every five minutes. Well. Pain in the urethra, I guess. Is that a thing? That should totally be a thing, because I had a urinary tract infection once and that shit was … not important. Anyways, I was sitting outside, watching Jackson making a fool out of himself at the barbecue, and I wanted to get up to go grab a drink. I got a little spotty-eyed and I might have swayed just a tiny little bit and they all went _bat shit fucking crazy!_ ”

Scott opened his mouth to protest but Kira was faster, looking torn between worry and amusement.

“What Stiles means to say is he got up from the garden lounger, said ‘woah’, got really pale, and then sat back down hard, looking like he was ready to puke. Jackson made him lie back, elevated his legs, and then told him to breathe in and out slowly, which was when Scott walked back out and misread the situation.”

“I did _not_ misread the situation!” Scott protested heatedly, but this time Lydia clucked her tongue, looking up judgmentally from where she’d been lounging in an armchair with a drink.

“Actually, what happened was that my dear mate grabbed Stiles’ legs, hooked them over his shoulders, and then told him to ‘breathe, damn it!’ which was when Scott walked in, panicked, and called you.”

“ _I_ can’t breathe, damn it! For the last time, I was talking about myself! Have you _smelled_ Stilinski’s feet lately? I thought I was going to choke with those stinky feet so close to my face!”

“I resent the implication, my feet smell divine!” Stiles snapped, glaring at Jackson stubbornly.

“As the guy who had to massage them earlier today because I lost at rock-paper-scissors, I can one hundred percent confirm that this is fake news. I’m Isaac, by the way, nice to meet you,” curly-haired guy contributed, looking rather bored with the entire situation.

“Anyways, once Scott had hung up on you we were able to convince him that Stiles was going to be ok. We would have called you to let you know it was a false alarm, but you weren’t answering your phone,” Kira added, looking a little apologetic.

Derek, who had deliberately ignored his buzzing phone in his attempt to not kill himself on his speeding-adventure to Beacon Heights, smiled politely, not in the least interested in smelly feet and far more invested in Stiles’ well being, which he was planning to check on right this second.

“Stiles, can I just check to make sure you and the baby are ok?” he asked, waiting for Stiles’ nod before he bent forward.

Without the ultrasound machine to make sure, Derek had to rely on his instincts and it wasn’t until long fingers hesitantly carded through his hair that he fully realized he’d pressed his ear against Stiles’ belly, head tilted so that his nose was tucked into the Omega’s side as he took multiple deep sniffs.

“Uh … Derek?” Stiles asked, sounding a little frazzled, and Derek came to three very important realizations.

Firstly, he really needed to unstick his face from Stiles’ body, stat.

Secondly, now that he was so close to that delicious smell, he wanted to burrow deep into Stiles and never, ever leave.

Thirdly, his behavior was no longer merely unprofessional but had officially entered the kind of creepy territory that led to restraining orders and/or someone getting kidnapped, kept in a hole to be fattened up, and then worn like an extra-cozy Omega-suit.

Cheeks heating with _that_ disturbing mental image, Derek pulled his head back, trying to look anywhere but Stiles when he addressed the room at large.

“He’s fine. A little bit dehydrated, but that’s nothing a couple bottles of water and taking it easy for a little while won’t fix. The baby is ok, too. The heartbeat is as strong as ever and it smells really healthy,” he reported.

Scott let out a relieved breath, looking at him gratefully.

“Oh thank god! I really did think he was gone for a second there when Jackson kept telling him to breathe.”

“ _I_ couldn’t breathe! For heaven’s sake!” Jackson muttered, though there was more relief than heat in it, Derek was not surprised to note.

“Well, since _he_ appears to be fine, maybe _he_ can get off this couch and get his feet out of this bucket? I’m just saying, it’s almost 100 degrees outside and frankly, it’s not that much better in here, so I would rather not suffer an actual heatstroke from being smothered by pillows!” Stiles grumbled.

He crossed his arms over his chest with a frown when Scott made an unhappy noise.

“Seriously, guys, I’m running hot enough as it is already, so unless you want to see what would happen if one were to stick Olaf into a microwave, you’d better let me get up now.”

“Olaf?” Scott’s frown had changed to an expression of utter confusion and Stiles groaned, looking at his best friend in disbelief.

“Seriously? _Seriously_? You’re about to be a daddy and you _still_ haven’t watched _Frozen_? No, you know what, just go away. I can’t even look at you right now!”

“Well, get your ass off that couch then,” Isaac said snappily and Stiles waved at his feet, then at his general person, shaking his head.

“Nu-uh, no way. The last time I got up by myself is what got me into this mess in the first place. Someone better pull me up, lest I faint to my death in this delicate state!”

Stiles’ words were tinged with sarcasm, but there was an actual undertone of anger now, one that Derek clearly recognized.

Clearly, so did everyone else, because the room cleared out quickly.

The last one to leave was Scott, who looked like he really wanted to stay until Kira gently tugged at his arm and pulled him outside to join the others.

Stiles let out a humorless laugh, patting his belly with a frown.

“Well, Gremlin, I guess your magical mood changing powers have struck again. You’d think that a couple of adults would be able to handle a little mood-swing but no, they just run for the hills every time.”

“I didn’t mean to speak about you like you weren’t there!”

Derek clamped his mouth shut, not having expected to just blurt it out like that, and Stiles blinked, surprised.

“What? Oh, that. Don’t worry about it; I know they needed reassuring far more than I did. Gremlin _is_ ok though, right? I know I should have had more water. That was stupid of me. The whole bathroom thing is just really, _really_ irritating.”

“Gremlin is perfectly fine. I promise. However, the bathroom thing is only going to get worse from here on out, I’m afraid.”

Stiles sighed, looking down at his belly once more.

“I know. I’ll probably move into the bathroom full-time once I reach beached whale status. On the plus side, I got a pretty great comic book collection in there to keep me occupied, maybe that will distract me from no longer having a social life.”

“It probably won’t be quite as bad,” Derek said gently, holding out one hand to Stiles after a moment of hesitation.

“Still need a hand to get up?”

Stiles chuckled, cheeks heating a little.

“Well … I’m not _that_ big yet, I guess. On the other hand, one can never be too careful.”

“Definitely,” Derek agreed, reaching down to clasp Stiles’ elbows and pull him up.

Stiles’ right hand immediately came up to grasp Derek’s shoulder, steadying himself as he pulled one foot out of the bucket, then the other, and Derek reacted automatically, arms dropping from Stiles’ elbows to circle his waist.

For a brief moment that nevertheless felt like an eternity, Stiles didn’t move away from him, his fingers tightening almost imperceptibly and his belly softly brushing against Derek with every breath.

Then he chuckled, patting Derek’s shoulder awkwardly and taking a step away from him, looking down at the bucket.

“That would have been more effective the other way around, probably. Then again, I have never been known for doing things the easy way,” he mused, finally looking up at Derek.

He was wearing that expression again, the one Derek still didn’t know how to handle, because it was both determined and uncertain, as if Stiles knew exactly what he wanted to say but couldn’t quite bring himself to do so.

“Then again, neither have you, right?”

Derek’s eyes widened, not sure what Stiles was referring to.

Choosing a profession in which he would likely always be an outsider, no matter how good he was?

Falling in love with a client, compromising said client’s well being, and affirming at least half of the nasty prejudices that had been hurled at him in the years since he’d taken up his practice?

Standing here, gaping like an idiot instead of giving in to what seemed almost inevitable at this point?

No, Derek had certainly never gone for the easy way out.

“I …” he began, only to stop short when the door to the living room banged open and Jackson marched inside with a thunderous expression, waving a plate filled with what seemed to have been steaks at one point.

“Well, dinner’s ruined because everything has burned to a crisp! We’re ordering pizzas, now, so you two losers better make up your mind about which toppings you want! Fair warning though, Stilinski, I _will_ barf on your pizza if I once again have to watch you eat that unholy trinity of toppings you picked last time! Being pregnant is _no_ excuse for such an abomination!”

“I really should …” Derek began, trying really hard not to let his frustration bleed into his voice upon the realization that Jackson had just ruined what could have possibly been _something_ , but the blonde Omega shook his head, either refusing to acknowledge the tension in the room or just oblivious to it.

“Nonsense! You drove all the way from Beacon Hills to tell us something we already knew so of course you’re going to stay for pizza! Scott’s treat.”

“My treat!” Scott agreed earnestly, wiping sweat off his forehead as he stepped into the living room as well.

“Man, I really have to fix that AC! I mean, we’re moving out in two weeks, so I figured it wasn’t important anymore, but we could sure use it right now,” the Alpha said, smiling sheepishly when Kira raised her eyebrows at him in an ‘I told you so’-manner.

“Good idea. I might have to strip down naked here in a second, otherwise,” Stiles agreed, very deliberately not looking at Derek and sounding just a little too cheerful.

“Dear god, no!” Isaac and Jackson protested immediately, letting out equal sounds of protest when Kira pinched the male Omegas’ ears.

“I could take a look at the AC with you. I’m good with my hands,” Derek volunteered quickly, waiting for Scott’s nod before he approached the apparatus.

It wasn’t like he was _deliberately_ trying to show off for Stiles, proving that he was a mate who could handle just about any crisis in the home.

However, he also wouldn’t have denied it under oath, which was why he was very focused on the task at hand and completely missed both Stiles’ raised eyebrow and Jackson and Lydia’s deeply judgmental expressions at his accidental innuendo.

“Well, _that’s_ good to know. You should go and do that, then. But first you need to tell me your topping preferences,” Jackson said drily, lips curling in amusement.

“Sausage, usually, but when it’s this hot I prefer just the bottom,” Derek said absentmindedly, having just identified the AC’s problem.

“How very … _open-minded_ of you,” Lydia said, sounding like she was barely suppressing a snort.

Derek froze, the entire conversation finally catching up to him.

He whirled around to find the occupants of the room staring back and forth between him and Stiles with varying levels of amusement, a beet-red Stiles throwing murderous glares at Jackson and Lydia, and Scott shaking his head at all of them.

“Guys, he drove out here _and_ he’s helping me fix stuff. Be nice!” Scott reprimanded them, joining Derek and clapping him on the shoulder.

“Ignore them. They are horrible people; I don’t know why I hang out with any of them. Well, not Kira, obviously, I wouldn’t have married her if she were horrible. Stiles either, now that I think about it, he’s carrying our cub for us and that means he’s more than awesome! Jackson’s a bit of an asshole, but he’s really been looking out for Stiles at the station, even though neither wants to admit it, so I guess he’s a nice asshole. Also, Lydia walked us through all the legal issues of surrogacy for free, so she’s kind of awesome, too. Terrifying, but awesome. And Isaac was my college roommate for four years, which I wouldn’t have survived if he’d been horrible. Still, ignore them. They deserve it.”

“Noted,” Derek replied, his voice still a little choked in embarrassment.

He also felt fiercely grateful for having something to distract himself with, not even daring to think too deeply about what the expression on Stiles’ face could even mean.

By the time the pizza arrived forty minutes later, Derek had noted quite a few other things.

Firstly, Scott and Kira were even more grossly in love when observed in their den than they were out in the wild, touching each other constantly and looking so smitten with each other that Derek would have wanted to puke, had he not been a closeted romantic at heart.

Secondly, Stiles and Isaac did not like each other very much and seemed to be quite proficient at telling each other so in a manner that was actually quite charming.

Thirdly, Derek was pretty sure that Jackson didn’t just like but actually secretly _adored_ Stiles and Lydia seemed to be in agreement, a fond grin hidden underneath the female Alpha’s hand every time Jackson slammed a glass of water in front of Stiles with a look that dared the pregnant Omega to drink or else.

Fourthly, Stiles hadn’t stopped smelling low-key horny ever since Derek had revealed his love for pizza bottoms and it, plus the implication of what this could mean and just how much Derek _wanted_ it, was slowly driving the Alpha completely insane.

In fact, if his wolf had manifested in front of him right now, Derek was sure that the poor guy would have flopped down on his belly, snout hidden underneath his paws and ears drooping with sadness and despair at its human counterpart’s continued refusal to take Stiles up on his invitation.

Lastly, Stiles’ friends were all horrible enablers who either dramatically overestimated Derek’s capacity for professionalism or weren’t quite as concerned about the difficulties of having to find a new supernatural midwife in the area.

Whatever it was, Derek was not surprised one tiny bit when they all settled down in front of the television with their pizzas and he realized that the only seat available was the one right next to Stiles.

On a love seat.

A very tight love seat, just big enough for one pregnant Omega and one muscular Alpha to fit on more or less comfortably, but conveniently small enough for it to be next to impossible for them not to touch with at least one part of their bodies.

Derek wanted to touch all parts of that body and it was a problem.

Derek also wanted to have a serious non-violent conversation with whoever had been in charge of orchestrating the entire current situation of his sorry life, because he was experiencing all of these desires while being forced to watch _Frozen_.

In 100 degree weather.

Though, fortunately, now in a significantly cooler environment because Derek was, in fact, good with his hands.

_Let it go my **ass**_ , Derek thought, biting his lip when Stiles shifted next to him for the umpteenth time, clearly unsure how to fit long limbs and a 21-weeks pregnant belly into the love seat without straight on sitting on Derek’s lap.

Not that the Alpha wouldn’t have been strongly in favor of it, his last grasp on professionalism steadily slipping with every little nudge of the Omega’s body against his own.

“Are you alright?” Derek finally whispered when he noticed Stiles rubbing at his lower back with a grimace, fiercely glad to seize on the opportunity to discuss their unfortunate seating arrangement under the guise of something more neutral.

Stiles grunted softly, casting a furtive look towards Scott and Kira before he leaned in and whispered, “My back’s been really sore all day, actually. I pulled some extra hours at the station yesterday to finish some paperwork and I think all that sitting really did a number on it.”

He dropped his voice even lower, waiting until Elsa burst into song again before he whispered, “Between you and me, I think that’s what all that getting dizzy and spotty-eyed was about in the first place. I’ve never done well with heat and pain combined, I should have known better.”

“Stiles,” Derek said, wondering if adding a touch of despair and resignation was a bit over-the-top for the current situation.

“I know, I know. Shit, ouch, this sucks, dude. I didn’t want to tell them though, because Scott would have immediately offered to rub my back and I wouldn’t have had the heart to turn him down and he just sucks so badly at it! Like, the ‘I can feel my knots getting knots’-kind of bad. I love him, I do, but working out the kinks in my back is not a strong skill of his.”

Derek just stared at him and Stiles stared back, unblinking.

Then, the Omega’s lips slowly stretched into a smile, eyes sparkling even as his cheeks colored bright red.

“Oh dear god, this is bad. So bad.”

“Really bad,” Derek agreed solemnly, and then they were both chuckling, grateful for the fact that Elsa had just moved in for the encore.

Stiles’ eyes were shining, his cheeks were flushed, and when he whispered, “Ow” through his chuckles Derek gave up.

“Come here,” he said, motioning for Stiles to stand so he could adjust their position.

He spread his legs wide and then gently pulled the Omega down, giving himself just the right leverage and access he needed to dig his thumbs into Stiles’ sore muscles.

Stiles went willingly, his heartbeat suddenly pounding in Derek’s ears and matching the werewolf’s own.

Derek had a task to fulfill, however, and he devoted himself to it, carefully working out the tension in Stiles’ lower back.

“Mmmmh, you _are_ good with your hands,” Stiles whispered after a few minutes, voice warm and questioning.

Derek couldn’t help himself.

He bent his head forward for a moment, forehead resting against the back of Stiles’ head and his nose just lightly grazing Stiles’ neck.

Stiles exhaled softly and Derek resumed his work, fingers moving around the Omega’s body until they were splayed against Stiles’ sides, making it easier for him to dig his thumbs in just above the Omega’s hips.

“You know …” Stiles said after a long silence, hands dropping down to cover Derek’s fingers and stilling him instantly.

“I’d still trust you to take care of me. Even if there was … uh … more of this.”

Derek exhaled slowly, steeling himself.

His head dropped even lower, until he could comfortably nuzzle against the Omega’s neck.

“That’s nice that you think that. Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure I destroyed my parents’ kitchen table earlier, so I don’t think I trust _myself_ at this point,” he replied, words muffled into Stiles’ skin.

Stiles made an inquisitive sound, cocking his head to the side to grant Derek better access instinctively.

“Hmmm. The thing is, though, Gremlin really _has_ enhanced my sniffer powers to almost supernatural standards, and the way you’ve been smelling around me lately has kind of gotten me to the point where I don’t trust myself either. I’d blame it on the kid, normally, but I don’t think hormones are responsible for how much I wanted you when we spoke on that float last month. So here’s what I think we should do.”

He paused, dropping his voice even lower as he pulled Derek’s hands forward and interlaced their fingers, resting them against his belly.

“I think we should finish watching this movie, preferably while snuggling, because my insides are feeling all warm and gooey right now and I don’t want that to end yet. Then you’re going to go home, and I’m going to call you in the morning to reschedule our next appointment to the day after tomorrow, and me, Kira, and Scott are going to talk to you about finding a new midwife.”

He made a soothing sound when Derek tensed behind him, squeezing his fingers tighter.

“I know that must have been a concern of yours, it was a concern of mine, too. You should know, however, that Kira and Scott have been very supportive about this entire situation and they’re more than willing to drive a bit longer to take me to appointments. The Internet says there are two other supernaturally qualified midwives in the greater area and if all else fails I’ll just go to the hospital here in Beacon Heights. We went for the midwife approach because we felt that a personal touch would be better for all the possible emotional turmoil that could be caused by the situation, but there _are_ two supernaturally trained and qualified OBGYNs at the hospital, so Gremlin will be in good hands either way. Gremlin’s health is our top priority, obviously, and it will remain our top priority, but they want me to be happy, too, and they don’t see any reason for why we can’t have both.”

Derek opened his mouth to protest but Stiles made a shushing sound, tightening his grip further.

“Anyways, once we’ve figured out that situation to everyone’s satisfaction, I’m going to ask you out on a date and I will romance you properly, because I hear you’re a shiny fluffy marshmallow and that means you clearly deserve some romance! Also, I’m pretty sure your terrifying nanas would kill me if I don’t do right by you and I can’t afford getting killed just yet, I have precious cargo to protect.”

He paused, lifting one of Derek’s hands and lightly brushing his lips over the inside of the Alpha’s wrist, smiling against the skin when Derek broke out into goose bumps.

“Let’s face it, I’m probably going to try and jump you, too, but you’re going to stop me, because I don’t put out until the third date and being all hopped up on hormones and currently going through life as a perpetual horn-dog is _not_ going to change that! Also, there’s the whole issue about me being pregnant with another Alpha’s cub and while I do believe that won’t matter to you, I also do think that we should take it slowly on that front. Just in case. How does that sound to you? _Alpha?_ ”

Derek shuddered, closing his eyes when he could feel them burning red.

“Yes,” he said simply, partially because he had no idea where to even begin and also because he’d always felt a bit self-conscious about mumbling through his fangs.

“Dear god, _finally_! Now can you guys shut up with the lovey-dovey crap and let us watch this stupid movie?”

Derek’s eyes snapped open, having completely forgotten that more than a few people were surrounding them.

Jackson was shaking his head judgmentally, Lydia was clearly going for regal indifference that couldn’t quite hide her pleased smile, and Isaac was rolling his eyes at them both, but Scott and Kira were beaming, holding on to each other tightly and looking at them like they were witnessing particularly cute puppies rolling around on the floor.

“A bit of privacy here! Seriously, you guys are the worst!” Stiles sniffed, but there was no heat in it whatsoever.

He leaned forward to say something else, then gasped, letting go of Derek’s hands to press his own against his belly.

“Holy _shit_! Scott! Kira! Come here!”

Derek sat back, a smile growing on his face as he watched Scott and Kira scramble off the couch and kneel down in front of the love seat, their faces heated with excitement when Stiles made a grab for their hands and pushed them against his abdomen.

“Wait for it!” he laughed, relief and happiness pouring out of him in dizzying waves when Scott and Kira let out squeals of joy.

“He’s kicking! That’s our baby! Hi baby!” Kira beamed, her eyes watering, and Scott’s eyes were suspiciously wet as well, his smile going almost all the way up to his ears.

“I guess _someone_ agrees with Uncle Stiles’ life-choices! You go bro! I _told_ you to finally do something about it!” Scott exclaimed, patting Stiles on the shoulder and grinning at Derek before he focused his attention on the baby again.

Stiles laughed, leaning back against Derek contentedly, and when he grasped Derek’s hands once more the Alpha felt like there was a big piece inside of him finally sliding into place.

It was official.

He _was_ the star in one of Nana Abby’s trashy romance novels.

He also had a very important call to make.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I estimate the next update will come around mid-February (due to deadlines and real life work stuff) and will feature Derek's more or less 'genius' solution to the issue of Stiles' medical care (guesses anyone?), Stiles and Derek trying to figure out what's next while balancing dating and taking it slow, and the difficulties of an Alpha midwife publicly dating a pregnant Omega who isn't their mate.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My Lovelies! 
> 
> This chapter is coming a bit earlier than I thought I could post it, so yay, surprise!
> 
> That being said:
> 
> WARNING WARNING WARNING!!! 
> 
> The last part of the chapter includes Kate Argent and one half of Sterek suffering a panic attack, so if that stuff triggers you, please proceed with caution.

To his amazement, Derek spent the day after the significant development in his relationship status and overall happiness without being badgered with inappropriate questions about his sex-life.

This, of course, was largely due to the fact that a unicorn newborn had peed all over Erica at the beginning of the week, which was why she was currently sporting rainbow-colored streaks in her blonde hair that would not wash out, no matter what she did.

She had taken the rest of the week off in protest, leaving Derek to spend most of the day after Stiles’ almost-fainting spell alone in his office.

He had had only one appointment in the morning and had tried updating all of his charts afterwards, but he was finding himself completely incapable of concentrating, his mind filled with _Stiles, Stiles, STILES_.

Unlike all the previous times during which he’d found himself in such a predicament, thinking about Stiles now brought him joy and anxiety rather than heartache and anxiety, making him feel even more relieved that Erica was not in the office.

He knew she would be ecstatic for him, of course, but he also felt like he needed to take a deep breath and process.

Preferably without having to play an increasingly invasive game of 20 Questions with his assistant.

Derek was happy.

Blissfully, mind-blowingly happy.

He was also a bit anxious.

Possibly a lot anxious.

Anxious, because beginning a new relationship was equally exciting and terrifying under normal circumstances, glorious orgasms mixed with pitfalls lurking behind every corner.

When one of the new partners was 21 weeks pregnant and would only get more pregnant from here on out, all the way until he had to give birth to a baby he wouldn’t be able to keep, the possibilities of messing up were literally endless.

Derek wanted to be good for Stiles.

Derek wanted to be so damn good for Stiles, in all aspects of their new life together.

He wanted to be a good mate, lover, and provider.

He wanted to protect him from discomfort and heartache and everything bad in the world.

Additionally, it was very decidedly possibly that his instincts were going completely haywire.

Derek’s instincts, in fact, were still on a sugar-sweet high from having been drowned in oxytocin and _Omega, fertile Omega, needy Omega, pregnant Omega, vulnerable Omega_ the night before, affecting his wolf, his inner Alpha, and the part of him ruled by his brain in different ways.

His horn-dog of a wolf had been wagging his tail since last night, and by noon Derek had already jerked off four times since he’d gotten back from Beacon Heights: once last night, the second time in the shower this morning, the third time in the Camaro just after pulling into the parking lot of the clinic and the fourth time during his lunch break, the phantom scent of horny pregnant Omega still clouding his senses.

Derek had _never_ jerked off in his office before and he couldn’t say he was particularly proud of it.

Especially since he and Stiles hadn’t even _kissed_ yet.

His inner Alpha, meanwhile, was in full on protective provider mode, not as much focused on providing for Stiles’ carnal desires but his … well … everything.

By the time it was five in the afternoon, Derek had already ordered good quality belly support bands off of Amazon to tackle Stiles’ issues with his lower back, plus some good moisturizer to help soothe the overstretched skin of his belly.

He’d also compared prices for box spring beds, entertained some fantasies about sweet kisses and bringing a heavily pregnant Stiles breakfast in bed, and then jerked off for the fifth time that day, this time even popping a knot.

The part of him that was neither ruled by his wolf nor his gender, meanwhile, was immensely worried about Stiles’ emotional state, wondering if he, too, was feeling as vulnerable as Derek did right now.

Letting a new person in meant opening yourself up and Stiles was pregnant, meaning that his emotions were all the more fragile right now and could be compromised by things that Derek, who could neither feel a baby growing inside him nor had any inside information about Omega hormones, could not even begin to comprehend.

The part of him that had listened to Cora’s lectures about gender studies also vaguely remembered that he wasn’t supposed to stereotype and assume, but in between his wolf whining for Stiles’ touch and his Alpha fretting about being a good provider, Derek was finding it a bit hard to remember that he was a woke, emancipated Alpha.

Also, he still had a call to make, which was adding significantly to his anxiety level.

Not that he was terrified out of the outcome, per se, but the road there was going to be … interesting.

He took a deep breath, finally pressing the contact in his phone and steeling himself.

_Beep, beep, beep._

“Hello?”

“Hi, it’s Derek, I …”

“I know who you are, I have caller-ID! Good thing, too, because I sure couldn’t have been able to tell from your voice! Funny thing, you forget what people sound like when they _don’t ever call you like ungrateful little …_ ”

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean … work was … I had …”

Derek’s flustered assurances were interrupted by a bark of laughter, ringing out of the telephone at a volume that actually hurt his ears.

“Bwahahaha, still as gullible as ever! I’m just trolling you kid, what’s up?”

Derek sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and wondering if his genius idea was, in fact, all that genius.

“Actually … do you remember that favor you owe me?”

 

=================

 

Stiles, Scott, and Kira were scheduled to meet with Derek after his last appointment on Thursday and by the time Derek returned from his visitation with the pregnant dragon living in a cave just outside Beacon Hills he was sweating with nerves.

His heart jolted inside his chest when he got out of his Camaro and found the group already waiting for him, sitting in the shade of the front porch and sipping on what appeared to be home-made lemonades.

Stiles broke out into a grin when he saw Derek and held up an empty cup, his smile turning a little apologetic.

“We got these from some adorable kids who were selling them on their front lawn just across from the cupcake bakery. I got you one, too, but I’m afraid Gremlin was very thirsty today, so I ended up drinking both of them. Sorry about that. On the plus side, I saved you a marshmallow cupcake, so I hope you can forgive me. Actually, Scott saved it for you because he refused to give it to me when my craving got the better off me, but still … cupcake! That I have very definitely not taken a bit out of.”

Derek chuckled, his nervousness easing just a bit at seeing Stiles being his normal happy and confident self.

“All is forgiven,” he said, holding out his hand for the cupcake.

Instead of handing over the cupcake, Stiles grabbed his hand and held it, smiling up at him mischievously.

“You have to pull me up first, I’ve been sitting on this porch for half an hour and I’m pretty sure my butt is asleep. Unless you want to try and wake it up, in that case I could be persuaded to …”

“Dude! Can you hold off on the butt stuff until _after_ Kira and I have left? Your butt deserves all the things, obviously, but I do not need to know these things about you!”

Scott pressed his hands against his ears to emphasize his point and Stiles rolled his eyes, though his grip on Derek’s hand tightened when the Alpha pulled him up gently.

“Can you believe this hypocrite over there? When he lost his virginity he wrote a song about it and forced me to record it with him for his then girlfriend with him playing guitar and me playing the drums. You should listen to it sometime. It’s on YouTube. The point is, there’s nothing I could tell him that would ever make up for the horror inflicted upon me during that recording session!”

“I’ve seen the video, you should definitely watch it! Although there are a couple of anatomical inaccuracies in there, but I’m happy to report he’s learned a lot since then,” Kira offered, grinning from ear to ear.

Scott huffed.

“I’ll have you know that _children_ were conceived to that song! Their parents told me so in the comment section! Besides, you show me the one true Alpha in existence who had all the information during his first time! They don’t exist, it’s a myth! You know what I’m talking about, right?” he grumbled, looking at Derek for sympathy.

Derek snorted.

“One of these days you will probably meet my well-meaning but over sharing aunt and then you’ll understand why I can’t really answer this question the way you want me to,” he said, giving Stiles’ hand a gentle squeeze before he let him go to get his keys out of his pocket.

“Come on, let’s go inside, we have a lot of things to discuss and it’s still pretty hot outside, I don’t want Stiles to start feeling dizzy again.”

Stiles sighed.

“You’re not going to let me forget this, aren’t you?”

“He better not!” Kira chirped happily, interlinking her arm with Stiles’.

Stiles huffed, but he didn’t seem too put off about Derek’s concern, so Derek counted it as a win.

The air inside the practice was blessedly cool and Derek took a deep breath, trying not to feel weird.

He was about to lead Stiles into his office as his patient for the last time and had no idea what they would be to each other when they walked out, which was exciting and terrifying in equal measures.

Stiles seemed to be thinking about it, too, because his eyes did not leave Derek as the Alpha went and grabbed his file from the desk, his expression warm but also a little apprehensive.

When they were all seated, Derek placed the file on the desk and took another deep breath, resting one hand on top of the folder.

“I’ve given this matter a lot of thought. Possibly longer than I should admit to,” he began, looking at Scott and Kira briefly before he focused on Stiles.

“I assisted during the births of my nephew and quite a few of my cousins and it was never a problem, but any illusion I had left that I would somehow be able to keep this professional even if we were to start … something … well, that last illusion went out the window when I destroyed my parents’ kitchen table two days ago. When Scott called me, Derek The Midwife went out the window and was replaced by Derek The Alpha and that’s not something I can risk. There’s a reason I often have to kick Alphas out of the delivery area and I can’t risk losing my head with you, not now, not ever.”

He swallowed heavily, realizing that his eyes were shining bright red.

It was a greater testament to what he was trying to say than any actual words would have been and when Scott nodded Derek knew he got it.

Derek took yet another deep breath and willed his eyes to go back to their usual color as he contemplated his next words.

“That, of course, leaves us with the question of who will take over Stiles’ care. Stiles, your pregnancy has been without any complications so far and with luck that won’t change. However, the chance remains that the cub _will_ have Kitsune powers and that requires the kind of precautions during the birth that I would not trust just any midwife with. I came up with a solution that I hope we can all agree on. You can say no, obviously, but I made a call yesterday and if you’re up for it, I’d like to introduce you to someone who I’d trust to take care of you. He should get here any minute, actually.”

“Oh really? That quickly?” Scott asked and Derek nodded, smiling sheepishly.

“As I said, I’ve given the matter a lot of thought.”

Derek could feel Stiles’ eyes on him and when he looked at him the Omega smiled affectionately, looking rather pleased.

Derek smiled back, deciding not to worry about the spreading blush on his cheeks.

“I should probably warn you though, he is a bit …”

The door to Derek’s office banged open dramatically, cutting him off before he could finish his warning.

Derek jerked up, relaxing for a second when he recognized the visitor’s scent, only to tense again and expect the absolute worst.

“We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We’re going to live on! We’re going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!”

Silence reigned and Derek took the time to thoroughly and completely question his genius, life choices, and the possibility that the deity in charge of his life was a sadist.

“… eccentric.” he finished his sentence as the silence stretched on.

Stiles, Scott, and Kira were staring at the new arrival with open mouths and wide eyes, their expressions comically shocked.

Then Stiles grinned.

“Now _that’s_ what I call a close encounter!” the pregnant Omega exclaimed, looking almost ridiculously proud of himself.

Bobby Finstock raised his eyebrow in approval.

“I like him, Hale, this is going to work out just fine! Now, where are those heaven-sent cookies your Nana makes, the drive was long and I’m starving! Ah, there they are! They don’t have raisins in there, do they? I _hate_ raisins! Oh wait, you guys are canines, of course there aren’t raisins in there! Wouldn’t want to have to deal with _that_ particular shit-show aftermath! No pun intended! Those are the parents then, huh? You’re the werewolf, right? I can tell! You look like a puppy!”

Scott dropped the hand he had extended, looking like he wasn’t sure whether to laugh or be insulted and Kira looked at Derek like she was reconsidering his group membership in the Sanity Club.

“No raisins, no dog jokes,” Derek said, only a bit helplessly, holding out the cookie tin with an expression he hoped looked stern.

Finstock just laughed, patting him on the shoulder so hard that Derek jerked forward.

“Awwww, don’t be like that Hale, you know you love my dog jokes! Seriously though, don’t eat those raisin ones, newest studies show that werewolves who ingest too many grapes and raisins are actually at risk of developing chronic stomach pain, miracle healing be damned! Same goes for you Bilinski, by the way, that little cub does _not_ need raisins in its system!”

Derek nodded dutifully, choosing not to mention that he had also been keeping up with the studies – and had learned his lesson about raisins and werewolf tummies long ago when he’d missed out on his very first sleepover due to stomach cramps from hell and the unsettling first time experience of diarrhea.

Meanwhile, Finstock had made a grab for the folder and rifled through it, clapping Derek on the shoulder once more when he saw that Derek had circled raisins in red on the _Don’t_ column of Stiles’ food plan.

“That’s my boy! I taught him everything he knows, you know! Best Alpha student I ever had! Well … only Alpha student I ever had, come to think of it, but that’s what makes him all the more special! Are you absolutely sure you want to drop him as your care provider? He’s the best as a midwife, but between you and me I’m not entirely sure his romancing skills are on the same level! Kid spent his entire time at school studying and ignoring the gaggle of Omegas who had the hots on him, it was the saddest sight I’d ever seen! If he hadn’t been my student I would have offered to help him get some experience on that front any day, to be honest! Bi-meter: Alpha, no kidding, have you seen that bubble butt? I would have smushed my face in there and died a happy man! Alas, Greenburg would have killed me, so there’s that!”

“Uh …”

Finstock waved his hands impatiently, silencing Derek’s desperate attempt to salvage the situation.

“But enough about me and my Sugarplum, that’s not important right now. Well, I guess it _is_ important, actually. See, my mate Greenburg and I did the whole unconventional procreation thing two years ago, so I have at least a little bit of an idea of what you guys are going through. Two Omegas, no knot, you do the math. We went for quarter-troll sperm, because I’m a proud descendant of the troll family and Greenburg wanted me to have some connection to our children, even if they weren’t biologically mine. Not full troll sperm, of course, that baby would have been bigger in utero than I am right now and would have ripped my Sugarplum apart! Still got pretty fucking big though, I’ve never been as horny in my life as I was when my darling Greenburg carried the fruit of our …”

“Bobby!” Derek yelped, deciding to put his foot down, because he could literally feel Scott and Kira’s growing conviction that Derek had saddled them with a madman.

Stiles’ expression was a bit more complicated to read and could have been anything from total thrill to astonished disgust.

“Stiles? How are you feeling about this?” Derek asked, tentatively, steeling himself for Stiles to walk out of this room and out of this life while accusing Derek of trying to get him killed by a psychopath.

Or something equally dramatic.

Instead, Stiles stunned him by throwing back his head and breaking into full-blown laughter.

“Oh goodness, you’re even more extra than I thought! I’ve been following you on Instagram and Twitter, that baby of yours is adorable!”

“Huh?” Derek and Scott asked at the same time and Stiles scoffed at them, holding up his phone.

“Oh please. I Google-stalked the hell out of Derek the moment I walked out of that office back in May and Finstock’s Instagram account was one of the first things I found. He posted that newspaper clipping about you when you delivered your aunt’s triplets and wrote an entire poem about how proud he is of you! Well. Himself, I guess, most of the poem was about how you’re only so amazing because he shaped you so. I’ve been following him ever since, his commentary on potty-training a quarter-troll baby was insanely amusing!”

“We had to redo the entire wallpaper in the nursery. Fucking nightmare that one, kid’s lucky he’s so stinking cute!” Finstock mused, throwing Stiles a dirty glare when the Omega laughed even louder.

“Oh man, that post actually made me pee, I laughed so much! Well, I guess technically Gremlin hopping up and down on my bladder made me pee myself, but you know, details. Anyway, if Derek says he trusts you with Gremlin and me that’s fine with me. My name is Stiles, this is Scott and this is Kira,” Stiles decided, holding out his hand for Finstock to shake.

“One thing though. I’m currently single, but I’m very much hoping that soon I won’t be, because there’s this really amazing Alpha who has indicated that he would like me to romance him. Once I’ve done that successfully, I assume he’ll want to come to my appointments and if he does I have to insist that there’s no more objectifying talk about bubble butts and qualities in the romance department. That’s non-negotiable. We good?”

Finstock frowned for a second, looking contemplative.

Then he nodded, shaking Stiles’ hand firmly.

“I like you kid!” he said, throwing Derek a pleased grin.

Then he turned his attention towards Scott and Kira, who, Derek was amused to note, immediately sat at attention.

“Alright then, how are the two of you offering support in this delicate situation?”

“I have to go pee,” Scott said with dignity, getting up and hurrying out of the office like he’d been stung by a wasp.

Stiles shook his head fondly, rubbing his belly.

“They’ve been awesome, actually. They keep my kitchen stocked with awesome food, they shower me with attention when I ask for it, and they give me space when I need them to. I can’t complain. Ten out of ten, would surrogate-carry for them again.”

“Stiles has been really … wait, _what_?”

Kira’s head jerked around, her eyes widening when she stared at Stiles.

Stiles shrugged, smiling a little apologetically.

“Ah damn it, that’s not how I wanted to drop that bomb! I had a plan! It was going to be super cheesy but still epic! Brain to mouth filter, sorry, that one’s been seriously whacked ever since I got pregnant. But yeah. I totally would. Next time we should totally go for twins though, because while I can see you two with a bunch of kids, I’m not sure I want to spend the next decade pregnant. Optimize the process, and all.”

“ _Bro_!”

Derek was reasonably sure he had never heard that particular term uttered with so much emotion as he turned around to see Scott standing in the doorway.

“ _Bro_!” Scott repeated, lips wobbling as he marched up to the couch and pulled Stiles into a hug.

Kira joined in, looking ecstatic, and Derek reached for the tissues automatically, sensing a triple-hormone explosion approaching with rapid speed.

Finstock shook his head.

“A bit dramatic, aren’t they?”

Derek stared at his old mentor, not sure how to reply.

Finstock stared back.

“What? _What_?”

 

===============

 

“It’s nice of you that we’re going to be able to keep using your office for my appointments. I’ve gotten so used to smelling your nana’s cookies while getting my privates probed and prodded, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself without it.”

Derek winced.

“She’ll be please to hear that, no doubt. Please don’t ever tell her that.”

“Don’t worry, I do have a little bit of control left,” Stiles said, leaning over to poke Derek’s side affectionately.

They were sitting on the porch in front of Derek’s office, enjoying the late summer heat of the early evening.

Finstock had ended the initial consultation by offering to take a quick look at Gremlin to make sure everything was in order, and Derek had felt only a little bit weird when he’d taken a seat at Stiles’ head, watching his old teacher at work.

For all his eccentricities, Finstock had always been able to switch them off the moment he turned on the ultrasound machine, studying the images on the screen calmly and seriously until he was absolutely sure that everything was fine.

Derek had watched from the sidelines, his attention split between the screen and wondering whether he should hold Stiles’ hand, but Stiles had taken matters into his own hands literally, making a grab for Derek and squeezing his fingers tightly when Finstock had pronounced the cub to be as healthy as could be.

Scott and Kira had left with a whole bunch of new scan printouts for their fridge, family, and friends, beaming proudly and looking as ridiculously in love as ever.

Finstock had taken his leave just after, but not without promising Stiles that he’d be in touch to schedule the next appointment.

Stiles had elected to stay behind, however, and Derek was both thrilled and terrified, because he had no idea how to proceed from here.

“One thing I’ve been wondering though,” Stiles continued, “What exactly did he do to you that he agreed to take a sabbatical just so he could take care of a pregnant Omega who lives ten hours north of LA as a favor to you? Better yet, do I even want to know?”

Derek laughed.

“Nah, it wasn’t anything like that. I delivered his son last year, because even though he’s the best midwife I’ve ever known, he could have never done it himself. He was a nervous wreck about the entire thing from the moment the stick was positive, actually. He promised me he’d return the favor if there was ever anyone … uhm … well … important enough in my life that I … uh … that I didn’t trust myself with them anymore. So. Yeah.”

Stiles smiled, reaching over to gently interlink his hand with Derek’s.

“I’m glad to hear it,” he said, squeezing Derek’s fingers.

“Also,” Derek continued, “he’d actually been planning to take a year-long sabbatical for quite a while, so this worked out perfectly. His parents left them a cabin in the woods an hour south of here and he’s going to move the family there next month. Greenburg’s due to be inseminated with baby number two next week and since the last pregnancy was so high-maintenance, they decided to do things differently this time. He was really struggling with their son and Bobby was running himself ragged working and trying to take care of him. This time, they want to be able to cherish it. Also, they’ve got a quarter troll toddler running around and terrorizing the village, they need all the serenity they can get.”

“Cabin in the woods? You couldn’t pay me to give birth in a cabin in the woods,” Stiles snorted, shaking his head when Derek stared at him blankly.

“Oh man, you and me have _so much_ Netflix and chill to catch up on. Anyway, not important. You’re going to be in charge of that pregnancy, then? Manus manum lavat, all that jazz?”

“Literally, I imagine, given the nature of our work. And yes, that’s also part of the reason they’re moving closer to my practice,” Derek smiled, preening a little inside when Stiles looked pleasantly surprised that he’d gotten the reference.

“Cool! I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m pretty sure he’s a bit insane, but then I’ve always been fond of eccentric people.”

Stiles rubbed his belly, smile widening.

“Anyway, it looks like Gremlin here is getting hungry and Uncle Stiles could do with a bite himself. Would you mind if I took you on a date to that charming little diner across town so I can satisfy my craving for a big bacon cheeseburger?”

He gestured at his body, chuckling.

“Well … if you’re willing to go on a date with a dude dressed in basketball shorts and a baggy shirt with lemonade stains, that is. I’ll have you know I would never dress like this on a first date, normally, but I haven’t really gotten around to updating my casual wardrobe yet. I’ve always been a stick in the mud, basically, so there’s no way in hell I’m fitting in any of my old clothes at this point.”

“You’re fine,” Derek said quickly, but Stiles shook his head, looking determined.

“No, I want you to understand that I am absolutely willing to put in the effort and romance you properly. Me dressing like a slob today is in no way indicative of my dedication to do right by you. I’m just really craving that cheeseburger right now, but I also kind of don’t want to put off our first date any longer, so I’m in a bit of a pickle here. _Not_ literally by the way, I couldn’t stand these things before, I can’t stand them now, stereotypes be damned!”

“My dad didn’t eat anything but pickles for weeks when he was pregnant with me, but he couldn’t stand the sight of them with Cora. It’s not like it’s mandatory or anything,” Derek replied, getting up and holding out his hand.

“For the record, I spent half of my day in a dragon cave, so it’s not like I’m dressed for a date either. We could make it work though. If you want.”

“I want. Very much,” Stiles said, eyes never leaving Derek’s.

Derek swallowed heavily.

“Well, alright then. We should take your car, by the way. I don’t live that far away from the diner and I can just run here tomorrow to get my car. It’s no big deal.”

“Sporty wolf,” Stiles teased, breaking the tension that had sprung up between them.

“A word of warning though, if you make fun of Roscoe that’s a bit of a deal breaker. We’ve had a very deep and meaningful relationship since I was 16 and I get protective when people make fun of him.”

“Roscoe?” Derek asked, confused, and Stiles grinned, a little blush painting his cheeks.

“My jeep,” he explained.

Derek nodded.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to make fun of you. I’m driving my sister’s Camaro because she decided to get a mom car when Jordan found out he was pregnant but couldn’t quite bring herself to give the Camaro away. I’m 99 percent sure my nephew was actually conceived in this car, even though she denies it. I try not to think about it too much. So yeah, I’ve got no room to judge.”

Stiles wrinkled his nose.

“Noted.”

Half an hour later, Derek had a big bacon cheeseburger on his plate and a gorgeous Omega sitting across the table, their calves so close that they were nearly in touching distance.

Stiles had not been lying – he really had had a craving, and Derek could only watch in awe as the pregnant Omega tore into the burger.

_Happy mate, satisfied mate, healthy mate, good and round, will need even more red meat when he’s carrying **our** cubs!_

Derek’s wolf had neither chill, nor an understanding of a balanced diet, apparently, but for once Derek wasn’t going to chastise him, too distracted by the way in which Stiles kept licking bacon grease off his long fingers.

Stiles was clearly being a little shit about it and doing it far more excessively than would have been necessary, but Derek didn’t mind all that much, especially not when Stiles’ calve bumped against Derek’s and then just stayed there, resting warm against his skin.

“So,” Stiles said once the waiter had brought their desserts, “You didn’t date at all during college? I am _not_ trying to objectify you or anything, but just so you know, the years in which I was getting my BA in criminal psychology were kind of … uh … wild. Sorry, wait, is this weird? Is this first date conversation stuff? Should we wait until the third date?”

Derek shrugged.

“No, it’s fine. We’re going to talk about this sooner or later anyways. And no, I didn’t really date during college. I dated my high school girlfriend Paige from sophomore year in high school to the end of my sophomore year at college, and after we broke up I just … it didn’t feel right, you know?”

He pressed his fingers together, searching for the right words.

“I was the only Alpha in any class I’ve ever had at college and I had quite a few people ask me if I wanted to help them through their heat, but it always felt … I don’t know … too convenient? Like they weren’t asking me for myself, they were just asking because I had a knot. It made me uncomfortable, so I rejected everyone and then it just became a habit, I guess. Then I graduated and started my practice and I’ve been so busy ever since that … it’s been a while, I guess.”

Derek hoped that he sounded confident but his heart was actually pounding in his ears, all too aware of how inexperienced his admission made him sound.

He wasn’t inexperienced per se, of course, not after four years of dating an Omega with a healthy heat cycle, but he’d kissed exactly one other person since Paige, so he knew he wasn’t sexually experienced in a way most people probably thought of the concept.

It hadn’t been a good kiss, either, short, too messy, and tasting of too much booze, planted on him in a nightclub in Las Vegas on the day of Boyd and Erica’s infamous nuptial ceremony featuring an Elvis impersonator.

He’d ended it as soon as he’d realized how drunk his dance partner had been and then fled to the bar, where he’d hidden behind Laura and Cora doing a shot competition for the rest of the night.

Still, he knew what he looked like and he knew people had assumptions, but what he hadn’t told Stiles was that, despite his heavy workload, he could have easily found the time for a significant other … had he not lived in a town where his profession had made him a sexual neutral at best, pervert at worst.

There would always be people who thought he was a pervert abusing his position to try and sniff Omega crotches under the guise of medical care, there would always be Alphas thinking he was a homosexual or wanted to be an Omega or all of the above.

However, Derek had learned how to ignore them because the majority of the people in town had come to respect him as a midwife, cherish him even.

Derek had worked long and hard for it, but he knew that he’d also given up his Alphahood in a way, at least in the eyes of a town that could deal with an Alpha midwife just fine, as long as he was an entity removed from all things sexual.

The fact that he hadn’t been seen with an Omega since Paige had probably contributed to that, too, and since Paige had moved to the East Coast with her new mate a while ago, Derek was reasonably sure the townspeople had forgotten all about it.

He sighed, looking for clues in Stiles’ face.

“I know that’s probably not what you were expecting. I hope that’s not a deal-breaker for you?”

Stiles shook his head immediately, reaching over the small table to grasp Derek’s hands.

“What? No! Jesus! Why would that be a deal-breaker for me? Seriously, _my_ romantic history would be a deal-breaker for any Alpha who doesn’t know what the word ‘heteronormative’ means! Bisexual, remember? If that’s not a deal-breaker for you then I can deal with the fact that you’re a serial monogamist who doesn’t like hooking up just fine. Actually, that sounds kind of perfect,” Stiles mused, his thumbs gently stroking over Derek’s knuckles.

“Good. That’s … good,” Derek smiled, relief spreading through his bones when Stiles smiled back at him.

“Really good, Derek. Because I think I really, really like you,” Stiles said, lifting one of Derek’s hands so he could press a quick kiss to his knuckle.

Derek shivered, not even trying to hide it.

Stiles’ eyes darkened and he lifted Derek’s hand to his lips again, pressing them against Derek’s knuckles just so that the tip of his tongue could dart out to tease the soft skin between the fingers.

“Stiles …” Derek got out, more a breath than a word, and Stiles’ eyes twinkled as he upped the ante.

He turned Derek’s hand over to place it against his cheek, angling his face just so that he could press his lips against the sensitive skin on the inside of Derek’s wrist. Then, he angled his head even further to run the tip of his nose across the even _more_ sensitive skin on the inside of Derek’s forearm, and Derek officially reached the limit of his self-restraint.

“Check!” Derek exclaimed, his voice a bit higher than normal, and Stiles placed his hand back on the table, mouthing ‘Sorry’ even though he was clearly not sorry but rather very pleased with himself.

“So …” Stiles grinned when they were standing outside, hand slipping into Derek’s as they started walking towards the jeep in the parking lot.

“This would normally be the point where I’d initiate a heavy make-out session with maybe some light groping in public, because ever since I became a deputy that arrests people for that sort of thing I’ve found that I quite like getting a little frisky just on the right side of what’s appropriate. However, I’m also currently a walking, talking, sex-crazed hormone monster, so there’d be _a lot_ of groping and it would probably end with me begging you to knot me in the back of the jeep. Tragically, as fun as that sounds in theory, Gremlin’s additions to my anatomy just make that impossible in practice for now. How do you suggest we proceed with this conundrum?”

He paused, eyes twinkling.

“Before you answer, just so that we’re clear, I’m really hoping your suggestion involves some sort of kissing, because that’s something I really want to do right now, in case I wasn’t subtle enough. I do that, sometimes, they used to call me Subtle Stiles in school, because I’m absolutely one hundred percent … umph.”

“How about this?” Derek smiled against Stiles’ mouth, his big hands framing the Omega’s face and caressing his cheekbones before he dove in for another kiss, soft and unhurried.

Stiles let out a soft little noise, his hands wrapping around Derek’s back to pull him closer, but Derek kept his own hands on Stiles’ face, very deliberately concentrating on the sensation of the Omega’s plush lips against his own and the sweet taste of vanilla milkshake in his mouth, mixed in with Stiles’ irresistible core scent.

The Alpha inside Derek was yearning for him to let his hands slide down Stiles’ waist, to feel the softness at his sides and the suppleness of his ass, just that bit more pronounced at the middle point of the Omega’s pregnancy.

He was healthy and glowing, soft, round, and happy, and neither Derek’s Alpha nor wolf cared one lick that the baby inside the gentle swell pressing against his middle wasn’t his.

He just wanted him to feel good, to smell even happier, to make his face flush with satisfaction, make the smell of the Omega’s arousal even more potent and …

Derek broke the kiss, resting his forehead against Stiles’.

“I think we should stop for now,” he whispered, breathing heavily, and Stiles let out a breathless laugh, fingers tightening in Derek’s shirt.

“Yeah. I might have to arrest us otherwise.”

“We wouldn’t want that,” Derek mused, placing one more quick kiss on Stiles’ lips before he let him go, taking in the slightly dazed look on his face and the flush on his cheeks and feeling happy that _he’d_ put those there.

Stiles shook his head, as if to clear a fog. Then he smiled a bit sheepishly, pulling out his keys so he could open the passenger door of the jeep.

“Speaking of arrests, uh … I’m afraid I got something for you. I tried to talk my dad out of it, but you _did_ go 50 above the speed limit and there’s only so much extenuating circumstances can do in that situation. Uh … sorry?”

Derek took a look at the paper and snorted, not quite able to hold it in.

“I didn’t know that going out with you came with presents on the first date. Way to make an Alpha feel special,” he teased, wincing only a little internally when he added the speeding fine to the amount he owed his parents for the thoroughly busted kitchen table.

“Yeah, well, I’m romantic like that. Also, if you tell our grandchildren that the first present you ever got from me was a three-digit speeding ticket then so help me, you and me are going to have a conversation! Not that I’m thinking about grandchildren yet. Not that anyone’s thinking about _children_ yet. I blame Gremlin, by the way. She’s put me in constant baby-brain mode and it’s ridiculous. We _are_ dating now though. Right?”

Derek smiled, leaning over to kiss him once more.

“Definitely.”

 

==============

 

With Erica still off on her impromptu hair-drama vacation, Derek once more had the office to himself the next day, allowing him to get in even more paperwork, fantasize about the way Stiles had felt in his arms, and quietly freak out over telling his family about the change in his relationship status.

It wasn’t that he was afraid of that, per se, since he knew they’d been worrying about him ever since he’d discretely moved from being infatuated to flat out pining for Stiles.

However, as ecstatic as he knew his nanas, Laura, and his aunt would be for him, he also knew that he’d have to sit down and have uncomfortable talks with his parents, Cora, and, if he was really unlucky, Uncle Peter.

Derek was well aware that he hadn’t just signed up for sex, but also for commitment and support in a way that would become a lot more intense a lot faster than these things usually went.

Heck, Derek’s job experience was making him aware of the fact that sex would first be complicated and would then be off the table completely for quite a while, as Stiles recovered both emotionally and physically from the birth and the hormonal after-effects of giving up the baby.

He knew the pregnancy would be a bigger aspect of their life with every passing week, literally and figuratively, and he was aware that it would be months before he and Stiles could truly begin to explore how they could work as a couple.

A couple that consisted of just the two of them, instead of them plus Gremlin, plus Scott and Kira, who, Derek knew, would be drawn closer and closer to Stiles the farther he progressed in his pregnancy.

Derek knew all these things and he was prepared to tackle them, because Stiles was worth it, he could feel that deep down in his bones.

He just … wanted to kiss Stiles a little bit more before he sat down and listened to those very same concerns from his parents, his pragmatic little sister, and his uncle, whose snarky attitude and relentless teasing had never quite covered up the fact that he’d been protective of Derek ever since he’d delivered Malia.

Also, his family’s enthusiasm would be overwhelming and Derek was still a little too overwhelmed in general to add more to that just yet.

Luckily, he’d had only three appointments scheduled for the day and had already tackled two, meaning that he was going to be able to go home in a little over an hour, snuggle on his bed with Bernard, and talk through his emotions with his loyal puppy.

He looked at his watch, frowning in confusion.

Kate Argent and her boyfriend Matt Daehler were actually running late, which Derek wasn’t used to and made him worry just a little.

Their case had been one of his trickiest so far, because Matt was a kanima and kanimas were cold-blooded, meaning that he hadn’t been able to shift safely since getting pregnant … a development that – Derek had easily been able to tell by reading between the lines – hadn’t exactly been planned or ever wanted.

Derek had had reservations about taking on an Omega kanima in the first place, because their subservient nature in their shifted form had always made him profoundly uncomfortable.

However, Matt had been hospitalized when he’d been nine weeks along because shifting had almost made him miscarry the baby, and Derek had no longer hesitated about stepping in and helping them.

When Matt shifted, his body temperature dropped significantly, running the risk of his unborn baby freezing inside of him. It might not have been an issue had he procreated with another kanima, but Kate was human and blood tests of the baby had revealed that so was she, a little human Omega girl who couldn’t adapt her body temperature to survive the shifts of her father.

His inability to shift had left Matt emotionally unstable and Derek had spent quite a few sleepless nights with him on the phone in April and May, when the worst of the hormonal changes had hit, trying to reassure him that his anxieties and worries were unfounded and that he’d be a good father, even if he didn’t feel excited right now.

Kate had been … not particularly helpful in the situation.

Derek didn’t really want to use the word ‘abusive’ because he had no concrete evidence, but he also couldn’t think of a better one, not fooled by the almost obsessive way in which Matt adored her.

There was coldness inside Kate’s eyes when she touched her pregnant Omega’s belly and Derek’s alarm senses had been tingling ever since he’d seen them interact the first time.

It seemed particularly off because, for all intents and purposes, she postured like the kind of Alpha that would have been all over her pregnant Omega: proud and with an air of superiority, the kind of Alpha who’d dote on their Omega to prove that they were a big provider and who’d take their pregnant Omega out in the tightest clothing possible to show off that belly, to prove that they had a big knot and had used it to its full potential.

She had the potential for it, Derek thought, but he wasn’t sure what kind of Omega would ever be able to get her to act on these instincts. Whoever it was, it wasn’t Matt, and it made Derek sad to see their little girl on the ultrasound every time, his instincts telling him that she’d be born into a home-life that would turn ugly all too quickly.

Kate’s all too frequent absences during these appointments only added to the picture in his mind.

Matt was 36 weeks along now and Derek had calculated his due date for August 18th, but Matt had been having unusually frequent and strong braxton hicks contractions since mid-June, so Derek doubted he would make it until then.

He grabbed for his phone, worry finally winning over his patience, only to place it back on his desk when he could hear footsteps outside the house, the clacking of heels alongside the heavy gait of an Omega struggling in the late July heat while in the home stretch of pregnancy.

He got up from his chair and walked into the reception area, his alarm senses tingling even more when he could see them approach through the window and noticed how tense Matt was.

His feeling of unease intensified manifold when Kate threw open the door and he could smell them, anxiety and upset radiating from Matt and contempt and fury wafting off of Kate in a way that was almost suffocating to Derek’s senses.

“What’s wrong?” Derek asked, alarmed, tensing when Kate slapped one well-manicured hand on Erica’s desk.

“What’s wrong? What’s _wrong_? You have the _audacity_ to ask us what’s _wrong_?”

“I …” Derek began, eyes rapidly flicking back and forth between Kate and Matt, listening for the baby’s heartbeat and checking Matt’s vital signals as best as he could while keeping most of his attention on the aggressive Alpha posturing in his territory.

Kate let out a shrill laugh, balling up a piece of paper she’d grabbed from Erica’s desk.

“I should have known! I should have _fucking_ known! I knew you couldn’t be trusted! Fucking pervert! What did you do to _MY OMEGA_?”

Derek reeled back, as if she’d slapped him.

“What are you talking about? What is this about, why …”

“Don’t act like you don’t know! Alpha midwife! Ha! I should have listened to my father, he told me I was crazy to trust you with my Omega from the moment you offered to take care of him! I should have seen it then! How desperate you were to get my Matt as a client, how you insisted you be the one to take care of him! You always wanted him, didn’t you? You were trying to steal him from me, didn’t you?”

She advanced on Derek, her eyes burning red in aggression, and Derek’s own eyes flashed back, purely on instinct.

“What is this for you, huh? Some sordid sexual fantasy? A way to feel powerful while you have control over Omegas at their most vulnerable? What kind of pathetic Alpha are you? I wondered why Matt always came home so subdued when I sent him to these appointments on his own, but now I know what must have happened! You touched him, didn’t you? Put your filthy hands all over his belly and down his pants, trying to get him to want you back! Only it didn’t work, did it? So you had to go look somewhere else, didn’t you?”

Derek felt each of her words and accusations like a punch to the gut, his claws digging into his clenched fists as he tried to remain in control.

“I am your Omega’s _midwife_! Of course I touched him! Professionally, to make sure he and your baby are healthy! Why the _hell_ would you accuse me of something so _vile_ , so … I would never, I …”

“Oh _really_?”

Kate’s words were dripping with venom, her eyes glinting with malicious intent.

“Never, you say? Who was that Omega at the diner, then? Seemed pretty damn pregnant to me! I asked around and no one’s ever seen you with an Omega like that, especially not a pregnant one! Unmated, too. Guess that’s what it took in the end, huh? Couldn’t score with a respectable Omega so you had to go for an irresponsible slut who’d spread his legs for anyone with a kn…”

“ _No_!”

Derek’s claws were slicing through his skin but he didn’t care, needing the pain to anchor himself and stop himself from roaring, from barging at Kate for daring to talk about Stiles that way.

He’d never felt so close to losing control like that and it was frightening, but even more frightening was the prospect of losing control with a 36 weeks pregnant Omega in the room, making him dig his claws in even harder.

“You do _not_ talk about Stiles like that! Ever!” he got out through gritted teeth, his belly churning nauseously when Kate looked almost disappointed, as if she’d been counting on him to completely lose it.

“I’ll talk about that slut whichever damn way I please! I’ll talk about him all over town, if I have to, to warn the respectable people of Beacon Hills that all our fears were true from the beginning – you _are_ nothing but a pervert, trying to feel up pregnant Omegas until you finally got one to fuck you! Stay the hell away from my Omega!”

She whirled around, tugging at Matt’s arm to get him moving, and Derek darted forward with a snarl, instincts triggered when he heard the yelp of pain punching out of the heavily pregnant Omega.

“Don’t!” Kate roared, stepping in front of Matt and shielding him with her whole body, pausing Derek in mid-step.

“Don’t you ever dare to come near him again! We’re going to switch to the hospital and if I see you setting one foot in there while he’s giving birth, I’ll have you arrested!”

Matt let out a pained little whine, grabbing at his belly, and Derek could tell that the stress was causing his muscles to cramp once again, his smell turning from anxious to distressed.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

“Kate! Don’t! Matt’s pregnancy has been high-risk from the beginning, I took over because Beacon Hills doesn’t have a supernaturally certified OBGYN and they didn’t know how to handle the kanima-human complications! He’ll need someone who can keep him from shifting during the birth and the human doctors at the hospital sure as hell can’t do it! You _know_ this! You’re putting him and the baby at risk because of this ridiculous nonsense!”

Kate chuckled, the coldness in her eyes chilling Derek to the bone.

“Should have thought about that when you couldn’t keep your knot in your pants and gave up your integrity! You better pray that nothing happens during the birth, Derek, or my baby’s blood will be on your perverted, filthy hands!”

She spat on the ground, throwing Derek one last look of utter hatred.

Then she whirled around and forcibly dragged her Omega out of the practice, almost making him trip over the threshold.

Derek watched them go through red eyes, struggling to breathe as the helplessness settled on his chest like a heavy brick.

Kate had come to fight him, her aggression etched into every line of her body, and she’d been ready to go into a frenzy, giving no mind to the pregnant Omega who would have likely been caught in the middle of it.

Derek couldn’t risk it, not while she was this keyed up, and so he could do nothing but watch them drive away, his mind repeating her last words to him over and over again.

Derek rarely ever had his clients deliver in the sterile atmosphere of the hospital, but he’d been planning on it for Matt, despite his fervent hope that the presence of a shifter would keep the kanima from turning during the physical trauma of the birth.

He’d planned for a natural birth, because C-sections were tricky with shifters, since an anesthetic that worked on shifters had yet to be invented.

With Matt barely hanging on to his control as it was, Derek hadn’t wanted to risk him turning the moment that scalpel sliced into his skin.

Nevertheless, he’d wanted the hospital equipment near him, just in case he had to react quickly and slice the baby out of Matt’s belly, should the kanima lose control after all and turn.

Derek knew the OBGYNs at the hospital were good at what they did, but they were trained for human Omegas only and the rare supernatural Omega who gave birth there was always a possible complication … let alone if the pregnancy was as high-risk as Matt’s was.

Kate was right.

The baby’s blood would be on his hands.

Suddenly, he couldn’t quite breathe anymore.

He stumbled backwards, towards the sanctuary of his office, his senses dulled in his panic and barely registering that his phone was ringing, grabbing it more on instinct than out of volition.

He picked up the phone and held it to his ears, trying very hard to sound normal when he said, “Hello.”

Given that the first words he heard were “ _Derek_! What’s wrong?” he was reasonably sure he hadn’t succeeded.

His knees buckled under him and he took another step backwards, hitting the wall and sliding down when his legs gave out completely.

“I’m fine,” he said flatly, his chest clenching when Stiles let out an anguished sound.

“Like hell you’re fine! You’re crying, Derek!”

“I’m not,” Derek insisted, squeezing his eyes shut to make it true.

“Where are you? I’m coming right now! Never mind, I just tracked you; you’re in your office! Stay there, I’m coming for you right now! Dad! I’m leaving! Derek, stay where you are! And for the love of god, breathe, ok? I’m going to stay on the line with you until your breathing sounds like you’re not about to die, ok? Breathe, just … breathe!”

Derek wanted to tell him to stay where he was, that he was fine and that there was no need for Stiles to be worried.

He would have succeeded, too, if he’d managed to squeeze even one word through his constricting throat.

Breathing.

Yes.

He could do that.

He told his patients to. All the time.

If they could do it, so could he.

It was what he’d been planning to tell Matt, too, even though he’d spoken with the head OBGYN at the hospital months ago to prepare them for the inevitability of the emergency kanima C-section, because Derek knew deep down that Matt would lose control eventually.

People without anchors always did.

“Breathe! Derek! Stay with me! Breathe!”

Derek breathed, raggedly and painfully, interrupted by gasps and sobs, breathed until, suddenly, Stiles was kneeling in front of him, his voice strong and secure.

“Derek! Breathe with me! In, one, two, three, four! And out, one, two, three, four!”

Stiles kept counting, holding eye contact with Derek until the red haze in Derek’s vision cleared away and his breathing became a bit more regular, still interrupted by sobs but no longer painful.

“Stiles,” he gasped, head dropping forward, and then his face was resting against Stiles’ chest, strong fingers digging into his back and holding him while more fingers stroked through his hair.

“I’ve got you. I’ve got you,” Stiles repeated, his nose nuzzling against Derek’s hairline, and Derek exhaled a shuddering breath, his arms finally working enough to wind around Stiles’ middle and holding on for dear life.

As the worst of the anxiety left him, so did his strength, and somehow Stiles managed to manhandle them into a new position, getting out of his kneeling crouch and stretching out his legs so Derek could flop down and rest his head on Stiles’ lap.

The Omega’s fingers were still carding through Derek’s hair, his free arm wrapped securely around Derek’s shoulders.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what just happened,” Derek mumbled finally and Stiles let out a soothing sound, his grip on Derek tightening.

“You had a panic attack, Derek. You’re ok now, though. I promise, you’re ok.”

“I never … I never …”

“Never had a panic attack?” Stiles asked gently, but Derek shook his head, eyes once more burning.

“No! Yes. That either. But I never … I would never … I could never … I’ve never …”

“Breathe! Please, breathe.”

Stiles held him tight and Derek turned his head so he could breathe in the Omega’s scent, grounding himself and anchoring himself, not even all that surprised that it worked instantly.

There was a nudge against his nose from inside Stiles’ belly and Stiles let out a soft sigh, pushing back a sweaty strand of hair from Derek’s forehead.

“Gremlin wants to know if you’re feeling better. She kicked up a storm all the way here; I think she was really worried about you. So was I,” Stiles said softly.

Derek placed his hand on Stiles’ belly, letting out a tired laugh when the baby kicked against it.

“I’m ok Gremlin, I promise,” he said, moving his hand so he could grab the fingers Stiles was carding through his hair and kiss them, feeling exhausted, grateful, heartbroken and so very hurt he had no idea how to even begin to put it into words.

“I’m going to take you home, Derek. You should be home now. Are you good to walk?”

Stiles’ tone left no room for argument that he had put himself in charge of the situation and Derek was grateful for it.

Not being in charge meant not having to think and he had never felt so tired in his life.

Following Stiles’ gentle orders was easier and he dimly registered Stiles locking up the office, Stiles opening the passenger side of the jeep door for him, and Stiles driving them to his apartment, all the way across town.

Stiles talked to him through it all, mundane stuff, nothing that required Derek’s full concentration, and as he drove his hand never left Derek’s thigh, squeezing the muscle and letting him know he was with him.

Derek focused on his voice and his touch, the nausea deep inside his belly slowly easing the closer they got to his apartment, but it wasn’t until Stiles had closed the door behind them and Bernard was licking his face that Derek truly allowed himself to relax, now that he was in his den with his mate and his puppy.

“Bed?” Stiles asked hesitantly and Derek nodded, leading the way to his bedroom and kicking off his shoes on the way.

Bernard jumped up immediately, turning around and fixing Derek with a surprisingly worried expression for a puppy, letting out little whines until Derek stretched next to him and burrowing against Derek’s belly, as if he wanted to climb into his ribcage and just stay there to make it all better.

Stiles crawled into the bed on Derek’s other side, wrapping one arm around him and spooning him as well as he could with the unyielding roundness of his six months pregnant belly in the way.

They breathed in synch for a while; Stiles’ calming Omega pheromones and Bernard’s affectionate little nuzzles soothing Derek, grounding him even further.

After a while, thinking no longer seemed dangerous, wrapped up as securely as he was.

And when he finally spoke, Stiles didn’t let go of him once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Up: Stiles and Derek continue to bond and think/talk about sex a lot. Auntie Zan has a helpful powerpoint presentation about sex positions during pregnancy, but her audience keeps running away. Derek's family has a lot of feels about Sterek and a lot of anger about the Argents. Mama and Papa Stilinski, meanwhile, have no idea what they are supposed to be feeling about the entire thing. 
> 
> ETA: Mid-February, I imagine.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya my Lovelies, as promised, the new chapter! 
> 
> WARNINGS for this chapter include: talk of emotional abuse techniques, particularly gaslighting and love bombing. 
> 
> Also, there's some sexy times in an unexpected location.
> 
> Enjoy!

At six thirty in the morning, Derek woke up to a finger jammed into his nose.

He blinked in confusion, staring up at the ceiling for a moment.

Then the finger’s owner let out a hearty snore and Derek was wide-awake instantly, a smile slowly forming on his lips when he took in his surroundings.

His heart was still a bit achy, his chest just a little heavier than normal, but with Stiles wrapped all around him as if he was the Omega’s very own personal pregnancy pillow on one side and Bernard’s tail twitching against his leg on the other, the bad would simply have to wait a little while.

Right now, Derek rather preferred the sensation of Stiles’ leg intertwined with his own, his belly pressed against Derek’s side, and half of his face smushed against Derek’s chest, drool included.

Still smiling, Derek tugged Stiles’ finger out of his nose as gently as he could, examined it briefly, and then placed Stiles’ hand on his chest when he found the finger’s health code violation risk to be satisfactory.

Stiles grunted and snuggled closer, shifting the blankets.

Roused by the commotion, Bernard let out a curious whuff, but Derek quickly made a shushing sound, not quite yet ready to face the morning.

Facing the morning meant having to continue last night’s conversation and Derek could think of roughly a million things he’d rather do, which was why he held very still and hoped for just a couple more minutes at least.

However, it was not to be, because Bernard let out another little whine and this time Stiles woke up as well, hair mussed and eyes only half-open when he lifted his head to blink at Derek.

“Ugnanagh,” Stiles said, followed by a yawn.

“Good morning to you, too,” Derek replied, grinning softly when Stiles let out a groan.

“Is it really morning yet? What time is it? Shit, did I remember to tell my dad to change my morning shift to the late shift today?”

“You did,” Derek confirmed and Stiles let out a relieved sigh, head dropping back against Derek’s chest.

“Good. Good, good, good. I mean, I could always blame it on the kid, obviously, but I do sense that the department will stop falling for that at one point.”

“Possibly,” Derek allowed, adding, “though highly unlikely,” with just a hint of self-deprecation.

Stiles chuckled and Derek basked in the sound, briefly pondering the logistics of just spending the entire day in bed with Stiles.

After all, it was a Saturday and he had no appointments scheduled, making the idea all the more plausible.

Unfortunately, both his puppy’s and his six-months pregnant Omega’s bladders were working against him, as evidenced by Bernard’s increasingly protesting whines and Stiles’ grimace as he maneuvered himself into a sitting position.

“I’m just going to go ahead and let him outside. On second thought, I think I’ll take a shower, too. Sleeping in my work clothes was not my brightest idea. You can stay in bed, if you want,” Stiles threw across his shoulder as he left the bedroom.

For a moment, Derek earnestly entertained the possibility.

Then he sighed and got up, figuring that he could always go back to bed _after_ he’d made Stiles breakfast.

And laid out some fresh clothes for the Omega so he could change into something clean and not at all because any part of Derek was invested in the idea of Stiles smelling like him.

He was a good provider that way.

When Stiles shuffled into the kitchen, Derek was cutting vegetables for an omelet and the Alpha truly appreciated Stiles’ consideration to wait until after he’d put down the knife before he went and wrapped his arms around Derek’s middle, nose nuzzling against the back of Derek’s neck.

The combination of the sun shining through the windows, coffee brewing in the pot, Stiles smelling like Derek’s shower gel, the warm hands on his waist, the lips on his neck, and the solid press of belly against his back were almost achingly tender and domestic and Derek couldn’t help but close his eyes for a second, savoring every sensation.

“You’re a bit of a sap, aren’t you?” Stiles mused, smiling against Derek’s neck.

“Huh?” Derek asked, turning his head just so that Stiles could steal a quick kiss.

“You smell really content right now. And by content I mean the kind that goes straight into my Omega instincts and makes my insides turn into gooey hormone soup. I’m not complaining, obviously, but you should know that I did in fact use your mouthwash and will probably kiss you silly here in a second. Largely because I think I’m already getting addicted to your happy-scent and I’d do many things to make that scent even more potent, but also because I’m pregnant and horny and you feel really amazing!”

He patted Derek’s stomach for emphasis, grinning at him.

“Seriously, what are those, rocks? Are abs even supposed to feel like that?”

“Werewolf strength,” Derek shrugged, turning around fully so he could grasp Stiles’ face with both hands and pull him in for another soft kiss.

“I have other ideas about what you can do with your werewolf strength,” Stiles mused once they had separated, a twinkle in his eye that was an open invitation.

“Is that so?” Derek asked and Stiles nodded, grinning.

Derek thoroughly enjoyed Stiles’ surprised yet delighted gasp when he hooked his arms under him and carefully lifted him up, his movements slow and precise as he lowered the pregnant Omega onto the marble counter of the kitchen island.

“Something like that, yeah!” Stiles declared, spreading his legs so he could pull Derek in closer.

Despite Stiles’ obvious arousal their next kiss was unhurried and gentle, carrying a softness that belied the beginnings of an erection Derek could feel through the thin basketball shorts the Omega was wearing.

On any other day Derek would have been more than happy to take it further, perhaps by dropping to his knees and just burying his face in between those thighs or putting his mouth over damp fabric.

However, with the heaviness of the previous day still weighing on his shoulders, Derek didn’t think it was going to happen.

When they broke the kiss, Stiles grasped Derek’s face and held him back so he could take a good look, eyes searching his intently.

Then he sighed, obviously having come to the same conclusion. He pulled Derek back in and guided his head into the crook of his neck, holding him there.

“You know I could make some inquiries, right?” Stiles asked softly, carding his fingers through Derek’s hair.

“I mean, it’s technically not my jurisdiction, but I could definitely give my Beacon Hills colleagues a call to see if she’s ever gotten into trouble with the law. She might think twice about trying to actively slander you if she’s already on probation for something.”

“I doubt it. People like that are usually clever enough to avoid getting caught. Also, her father is a big-shot in the local community and he’s really good friends with the mayor’s dad, so she’s got some powerful allies that can make bad things go away.”

“Still. Even if there isn’t anything on her record that doesn’t mean there could never be. If what you’re suspecting is true then she could get into some real deep shit. Only perk of the whole family values-crowd’s dedication to preventing equal rights at any cost – my great-great-grandchildren will be old and grey by the time they’ll see Omegas earn the same salaries as Alphas, but you mess with an Omega’s pregnancy at any time and there’s going to be hell to pay.”

Stiles paused, finger tapping against his lips as he considered. Then he laughed bitterly, rubbing at his eyes.

“Actually, scratch that, calling it a perk probably isn’t the right word for a law that is specifically designed to protect pregnant Omegas from harm in theory, but is applied to rescue Omegas from abusive situations roughly ten percent of the time. The other ninety percent are Alphas running to the courts to get emergency injunctions so an Omega won’t get an abortion, because they have to be protected from their own ‘confusion and hormonal imbalances’. Or something like that.”

He shook his head, grimacing.

“You have to hand it to the right-wingers, that was some brilliant thinking right there. Write a shiny law that looks like they’ve suddenly found Omega Rights like Larry Craigston found Jesus during a gay bathroom hookup, but leave in so many loopholes that the anti-choice crowd has been masturbating over it ever since.”

“Colorful,” Derek snorted, cracking a small smile and Stiles smiled back, shrugging sheepishly.

“I try, I try. The point is, if you can somehow prove that Matt’s in an abusive situation you might be able to get him away from her long enough to convince him that you’re his little girl’s best shot at being born alive. It’s worth trying, isn’t it?”

Derek sighed, lifting his head so he could look at Stiles fully.

“He’d have to testify against her and I’m afraid that isn’t happening anytime soon. She’s got him trained really well,” he said, not able to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

“Trained? Trained how?” Stiles asked, forehead scrunching in concentration.

Derek shrugged.

“Small stuff, I guess. For example, there was this one time I suggested Matt should start drinking a special kind of herbal tea to keep the nightmares about shifting away. It was invented by a witches coven in northern Washington and it’s worked particularly well for pregnant people with anxiety. Kate wasn’t keen on the idea of her Omega taking any kind of drugs to help with the pregnancy and she kept telling him his nightmares weren’t actually all that bad. When he came in for his next appointment he told me he’d decided not to use the tea because it wasn’t necessary. Except the first time we spoke about it his skin was still covered in healing scratches because he’d used blunt fingernails to claw at his belly during the night. She just told him he wasn’t having nightmares so many times that he started believing it, I guess.”

Derek cleared his throat, trying not to give in to the anger once more bubbling up inside his chest at the memory.

“He’s so smitten with her, too, no matter what she does! She kept missing these appointments but he kept telling me that it didn’t even matter, because every time he’d come home she’d be there to make it up to him. If you hear him talk you’d think she could do no wrong and that there’s nothing more important than her happiness. I’m not even sure if he actually has a life outside of her and that’s always worried me a little. With the situation as tense as it was already I didn’t want to make an issue out of it, but … if she’s the only person he’s close to he doesn’t have anybody to support him if he does in fact make a statement against her. That’s another element I have to consider. With his control as shaken as it is and so close to the birth, the stress might actually cause the very thing I’m trying to prevent.”

“Gaslighting and love bombing. The classics,” Stiles said grimly and Derek frowned in confusion, not familiar with the terms.

“That’s what you could call these things. Gaslighting is a classic abuser technique, where one person repeatedly manipulates the other to fuck with their perception of reality. The name is from a really old movie, I think. Or a stage play, I forget. For example, say you take a shower and leave me some hot water but then I take a shower and afterwards I claim that you didn’t leave me any hot water because you’re an inconsiderate brute. So the next day you’ll make sure to leave me more than enough hot water and I’ll still tell you that I didn’t have any left. If I repeat this often enough, you’ll eventually start believing you’re never leaving me any hot water and you’ll feel like you actually are an inconsiderate brute. This is a lame example, probably, but frankly I don’t even want to imagine another situation where I’d do this to you.”

Derek nodded in understanding.

“That would explain why he never tried the tea, even though the nightmares kept happening. And the love bombing?”

“Crazy psycho shit. Cruel, too,” Stiles said simply.

“People who love bomb their partners literally do just that – they overwhelm them with affection, shower them in kindness and passion, make them believe they are the apple of their eyes, the most important thing in the universe, the only key to their happiness. Once they’ve got them emotionally hooked they become controlling and demanding, often isolating their partners from friends and families so they can have them all to themselves. And if you’ve got a person that isolated, it’s easy to do whatever you want to them without getting caught. Does that sound like it would fit Matt’s relationship with Kate?”

Derek winced.

“From what I have seen, yeah, actually, it does. I still don’t have any proof though. Without Matt’s statement there is no case here.”

Stiles sighed heavily.

“Yeah. Psychological manipulation is some tough shit, but you shouldn’t underestimate the protective urges of a pregnant Omega so close to birth either. He knows his baby’s likely toast if he isn’t monitored carefully by a supernatural professional during the birth, right? Maybe the idea of actually putting her in danger by cutting you out of the situation will break through whatever hold Kate has on him.”

He looked down at his belly, placing both hands on it and rubbing gently.

“Ha. Look at whom I’m talking to, of course _you_ know how powerful those instincts are. It’s just been kind of a revelation for me. Take Gremlin for example. I know she isn’t mine but I’d still do anything to keep her safe and healthy. I’ve felt that way for quite a while, but ever since I’ve started to feel her move around it’s like Uncle Stiles has gone overprotective central. I can’t imagine how I’ll feel when I’m so far along she could be born at any minute.”

Derek deliberated, then placed his own hands on Stiles’ belly, smiling when he could feel soft movement through the thin shirt.

“Gremlin’s lucky to have you,” he said and Stiles kissed Derek’s temple in response, his eyes warm and his expression grateful.

“You’re right she is! She better understand that, too, because we have a deal where Uncle Stiles is going to get a bunch of drawings from this little lady as soon as she can hold a pen. I’ll put them in a frame on my desk for bragging purposes and save them for when she becomes president, at which point I plan to sell them to the highest bidder. Except for the first one, maybe, I’m sentimental like that.”

He laughed quietly, placing his palm against his side in response to a kick.

“To get back to the point though – I’ll make some calls but we might have to wait for now. Without any proof of abuse it’ll be difficult to keep her away from Matt and even then, as long as there’s nothing physical it’ll be a tough sell with the conservative folk over at the station. And if she starts slandering you then I’ve got Lydia on speed trial to sue her ass off for you. All you can really do for now is wait and hope that Matt finds the strength to either leave her or stand up to her and come back to you for help. And if he doesn’t … it won’t be your fault. It’ll never be your fault.”

He punctuated the statement by pulling Derek back in, wrapping his arms around him and squeezing tightly.

Derek held on to him, feeling warmth, comfort … and hope.

 

==============

 

“So, funny thing,” Stiles said a week later, fiddling with the hem of his brand new paternity shirt.

“Funny ha-ha, or funny I can already feel my knot shriveling?” Derek asked drily and Stiles threw his head back and laughed, almost knocking over his Ocean Water cup.

They were sitting in Stiles’ jeep at the Sonic two hours south of Beacon Hills, one of only 74 locations in California and thus rather hard to find.

Derek had always been more of an In-N-Out-Burger man himself, but Gremlin was apparently going through a Texan phase and Stiles’ cravings had adapted accordingly.

“Sonic’s based in Oklahoma, actually,” Stiles had remarked when Derek had teased him for it, but Derek held his ground that, with almost a 1000 locations in the lone star state alone, Sonic drive-through restaurants were Oklahoman in name only.

Origin issues aside, Derek had literally jumped on the chance to show off his provider skills and get in some quality time with his new boyfriend when Stiles had casually mentioned his newest craving on the phone the day earlier, figuring that a four hour drive was nothing compared to the treat of watching a happily glowing Omega wolf down breakfast burritos, tater tots, and Peanut Butter and Cookie Dough Dream Master Blasts.

Plus, they hadn’t really had a chance to see each other in the eight days since Derek had suffered his panic attack and Stiles had ended up missing almost a day of work to be there for him.

Derek had missed him achingly during that time, despite being rather preoccupied for most of it.

Stiles had barely been out the door for half an hour on Saturday night when Derek had gotten a panicked call from the manticore couple expecting their first litter and although Derek was used to first births taking a bit longer, he had severely underestimated the length it took to successfully deliver a nervous first-time manticore dad off of not one, not two, not three, but five cubs.

On the plus side, despite growing up with a master chef nana, Derek had rarely eaten that well three days in a row, because Persian cuisine was a culinary revelation and Derek was ready to worship at its altar.

On the downside, a 32-hour labor period of dilation, followed by a new cub emerging from the birth canal every eight hours, had thoroughly earned its spot in Derek’s personal record book for longest birth recorded by a long-suffering midwife ever.

He’d gotten a couple of naps in here and there, but he’d been seriously exhausted by the time he’d stumbled back home in the early morning hours of Wednesday, getting a much needed resting period of six uninterrupted hours before he’d dragged himself back to the office to get started on all the appointments Erica had had to reschedule in the past two days.

On Friday morning he’d had to pay an emergency visit to Nour, his 38 weeks pregnant genie client who’d gone into labor two weeks before her due date.

Sensing its mother’s pain and anxiety, the little genie baby had restlessly shifted into a different creature during each contraction, until it had finally taken on a form small enough for Derek to coax through the genie’s birth canal without tearing her up, since genies couldn’t shift during the birthing process.

Nour had burst into tears of pride and joy when the baby had let out its first wail and Derek had laughed in relief, marveling at the irony of a wolf delivering an actual lamb.

As was common for genies, the baby had been born gender and sex-less, since genies were one of the few creatures known that didn’t take on their permanent gender and sex until they reached adulthood and knew for themselves who they were and who they wanted to be. Therefore, genies usually chose unisex names for their babies and Derek had dutifully stayed for little Intisar’s post-birth naming ceremony before he’d taken his leave.

By the time he’d come home he’d had five missed calls from Stiles, roughly thirty voicemails, texts, and greeting cards from his family, and about twenty texts from Erica in all-caps, the content of which had led him to conclude that she’d not only found out about him and Stiles, but had apparently spilled the beans.

“In my defense, Stiles didn’t have to post a selfie on Instagram where he was wearing a shirt with your alma mater’s logo on it while I was having pack dinner with your entire family,” Erica had said when he had called her, for once sounding truly sorry.

“She didn’t meant to blab, it’s just that no one in your family believed her when she tried to pass off that delighted shriek worthy of a banshee as ‘nothing’,” Boyd had added in the background, making Derek rub his temples in fond exasperation.

Erica’s outburst had been directly related to Derek enjoying an event on Saturday that his family had called a ‘brunch’ and Derek maintained had been an interrogation, leading him to his current situation: sitting at a Sonic two hours away from home and treating his pregnant Omega to an unhealthy breakfast of his desire before he was supposed to take him home and introduce him to his family during Sunday night dinner.

Any worries he had had about Stiles thinking it was too soon to meet the families had quickly evaporated when he’d called him on Saturday afternoon and Stiles had burst into delighted shouting at the chance of getting to eat Nana Abby’s cookies straight out of the oven, which Derek had dutifully relayed to his nana and which probably meant that the entire house was already stacked with cookies.

Stiles had arrived at Derek’s house early so they could make it back from their Sonic adventure in time and Derek had enjoyed listening to Stiles reminisce about his week during the drive, happy to let him do most of the talking.

Now, however, Stiles’ tone was decidedly less cheerful than it had been when he’d recounted the week’s highlight of getting to interrogate a drunk hydra with seven heads, each of which had had a very different take on what exactly had transpired in the city park’s duck pond to cause bystanders to call the police.

He sounded rather nervous, in fact, and Derek reached over to squeeze his leg encouragingly.

“The funny thing?” he prompted and Stiles cleared his throat.

“Yeah. Uhm. Well. You know how I’ve mentioned that my dad is the Sheriff and really observant? Turns out that he remembered I didn’t go to a college in Los Angeles when I barely made it to last Saturday’s night shift in time dressed in your clothes and smelling like an Alpha had rubbed all over me, even though we didn’t really do any sexy rubbing at all and just cuddled on the couch for seven hours. He was already suspicious when I ran out of the station like my tail was on fire the day before and in between his knowledge that the only Derek I know is my midwife, my perfectly justifiable overreaction to you sounding like you were dying, and the fact that I came back smelling like horny Alpha on a glow-stick … well … he kind of connected the dots. Meaning that he wants to meet you, stat. As does my mom. Who has been pregnant before and also had a midwife and has been giving me some serious side-eye over my life-choices for the past seven days.”

“Funny-knot-shriveling it is, then,” Derek said blankly, trying not to show his terror.

Stiles laughed, leaning over the console with a soft grunt to peck his cheek. Then he looked down at Derek’s crotch, frowning.

“Dear god no, I haven’t even seen it yet, you better not shrivel up before I get to sit on it, little guy!”

“I’d make a size joke now, but Cora has firmly impressed upon me that that is not appropriate for woke Alphas these days,” Derek replied with a grin and Stiles laughed again, eyeing Derek’s groin unashamedly.

“I’d agree with that, maybe, but I haven’t had sex in almost a year and my privates are perpetually swollen and well supplied with blood, which I hear heightens an Omega’s sexual pleasure immensely. Speaking of which, is this our second date or could we argue that it’s technically our third, since you did make me breakfast _and_ lunch when I stayed at your place last week?”

Stiles’ tone was absolutely innocent, but when he wrapped his lips around the straw of his drink, looked up at Derek through his eyelashes, and slurped obnoxiously, Derek decided that two could play this game.

“If you count breakfast and lunch individually that means we’re actually on our fourth date right now and behind schedule. At least according to the incomprehensible dating laws of our great nation,” he said, taking a quick glance at their surroundings.

They were the only customers in the parking lot, currently, and they had parked far away enough from the restaurant that Derek felt comfortable to let his guard drop just a little.

Decision made, he pushed the passenger seat back and spread his legs, just enough that the fabric of his basketball shorts stretched over his groin.

“I think we can definitely count them as two,” Stiles said, straw dropping from his mouth when Derek placed his hand on his crotch and rubbed slowly, enough to send out a dash of Alpha pheromones and create a bulge inside his shorts.

“Where are you going with that, Alpha?” Stiles whispered when Derek exhaled sharply, the scent of Stiles’ growing arousal making it difficult for him to keep his movement slow and steady as his cock began to fill, tenting the fabric rather obscenely.

“Second base, hopefully. Third would be nice, too, but your car is too small for that,” Derek replied, just a little breathily.

Stiles swallowed heavily, setting down his drink in the cup holder.

“I can help you with that. Hold on a second,” he declared, eyes hooded with arousal.

He opened the driver side door and got out, leaving Derek alone for a moment as he walked around the car and opened the passenger side door.

“What are you …” Derek began, holding on to Stiles’ waist automatically when the Omega somehow managed to awkwardly maneuver himself onto Derek’s lap.

“For the record, this would have been so much smoother without so much belly in the way,” Stiles stated as he pulled the passenger side door shut and then wrapped his arms around Derek’s shoulders, leaning in for a heated kiss.

It was a bit of a tight fit, Stiles’ back almost touching the glove compartment box and his belly pressed firmly against Derek’s midsection, trapping the Alpha’s erection in between their bodies.

Stiles was getting hard, too, Derek noticed, but he was much more focused on the heat he could feel where his short hem met the fuzzy skin of his thighs, the dampness of slick starting to soak through Stiles’ light pants.

“Shouldn’t you … _oh god, there, yes_ … shouldn’t you be arresting us right now?” Derek panted when Stiles got his hand in between their bodies, pulled Derek’s cock out of his shorts, and moved his thumb across the leaking slit.

“Ssssssh,” Stiles admonished, kissing him once more.

He tried to get a good stroke going but the angle was awkward, his movement too obstructed by their tight surroundings and a belly that prevented him from maneuvering the way he would have needed to create some real friction.

Derek made a grab for Stiles’ hand and lifted it, kissing the inside of his wrist before encouraging Stiles to hold on to his shoulders, allowing him to get some leverage.

Stiles took the hint, giving Derek a shit-eating grin as he began to grind down, the scent of his slick becoming more and more potent.

Derek dug his fingers into the small of Stiles’ back, guiding him just a little to the right and letting out a loud groan when the slight change in position made his calves tense and his toes curl in pleasure.

He could feel the beginning of his knot forming, throbbing at the base, and he let out a whine, needing more friction desperately.

“ _Alpha_ ,” Stiles exhaled, grinding down once more and getting the angle just right.

A second later Derek came hard, head thrown back and mouth dropping open.

Stiles’ eyes were blown with desire as he kissed Derek through his orgasm, biting down and tugging at his lip.

He tangled his hands in Derek’s hair and moved up just a bit. When he rocked his hips again Derek could feel Stiles’ hardness rubbing against his muscular thigh and his cock gave an interested twitch, still on the unbearable side of oversensitive.

He moved his hands away from Stiles’ buttocks, running them up his belly until he reached his chest, and when he lightly twisted one of the hard nipples peaking through the Omega’s shirt Stiles let out a curse, the smell of his come adding to the oversaturation of Omega hormones in the air.

They breathed heavily in synch for a moment, sweaty foreheads resting together, with Derek’s hands dropping down to the Omega’s waist and Stiles’ fingers still tangled in his hair.

“Uh … guys?”

Derek’s werewolf hearing was the only reason he could hear the crackling of the intercom through the closed windows and he quickly reached over to roll down the driver’s side window, focusing on the order station next to the car.

“Yeah?” Stiles asked, deliberately casual, and Derek closed his eyes, embarrassment heating his cheeks.

“Okay so, like, I’m sorry for interrupting and all that but like, this is kind of a family establishment? Sort of? Like, Texas style family establishment, I guess? Point is, that was hella sweet and all, but you can’t like make-out here … or anything. Company policy.”

Derek suddenly had a vision of the teenager fresh out of high school who’d brought the food over earlier, lethargy oozing out of oily pores and shoulders hunched as if he was already feeling the weight of student loans on his back.

He hadn’t known it was possible to feel ashamed with happy sex hormones still mellowing out his soul, but the kid’s resigned voice was making him pull it off.

“Got it, sorry about that! We’ll be going now!” Stiles said cheerfully, rolling up the window and turning back to Derek.

“Well … luckily for us there’s no way he could have seen anything too x-rated. Hooray for jeep sex! Except maybe the next time should be _after_ I’ve pushed out this kid, because I think I’m getting a cramp. What is this nonsense even? Am I a seventy-year-old man? That was good for me, by the way. So, _so_ good! Even though I didn’t even get to see your knot! Next time, for sure! We should shower at your place before we go to your family for dinner though. I might have to wash my pants, too. They’re kind of soaked two ways.”

“Uhu,” Derek agreed, smiling despite his lingering mortification.

Stiles chuckled fondly.

“You’re a bit monosyllabic after sexy times, aren’t you?”

“Uhu,” Derek agreed happily and Stiles laughed, eyes twinkling.

“Well, you’re _not_ going to take a nap, we still have to drive back and you’ll need to keep me company.”

“Uhu,” Derek repeated and Stiles snorted, patting his cheeks.

“A little nap, maybe. I’m a kind Omega that way,” he allowed, pecking Derek on the lips once more before he got off of his lap.

Derek tried his best to help but Stiles just laughed again, leaning over and grabbing a packet of wet wipes from the glove compartment once he’d gotten out of the car.

He wiped away the residue of slick from Derek’s leg, rolling his eyes a little when Derek let out a disappointed little growl.

By the time they’d pulled out of the Sonic parking lot Derek’s eyes were already closed, heavy with sleep after his orgasm.

If he’d been more alert he might have pondered how significant this was, since he’d never been able to fall asleep on the passenger seat if it wasn’t his mother or father driving the car, not even Boyd, whom he trusted to stay calm even when faced with laboring Big Foots or fire breathing dragons.

He wasn’t alert though, and as he allowed the jeep’s rumbling to lull him to sleep, all he felt was content.

 

====================

 

“Derek! Darling! It is so good to see you!”

“It has been a long time. Almost 24 hours,” Derek agreed, giving Nana Abby an unimpressed glare that his grandmother chose to ignore.

“And Stiles! So lovely to you see again! My gosh, would you look at that belly! Darling, look, isn’t he just glowing! He reminds me of you when you carried Talia, so full and round with life and happiness! It’s such a kind thing you’re doing for your friend, you’re such a good young man!”

Nana Greta was giving Derek’s boyfriend some serious heart eyes and Derek promptly resigned himself to an evening of perpetual mortification.

Stiles took it all in stride, looking like he thoroughly enjoyed Derek’s nanas cooing over him like he was the newest world wonder.

It was starting to cool down just enough to eat outside and the entire Hale brood was already scattered across the garden, setting up the table, playing on the swing-sets or, in Bob and Barty’s cases, drooling happily on someone’s lap.

As Derek had expected, his parents had welcomed Stiles warmly but had been giving them space since they’d arrived, not so subtly observing them.

To his relief, Cora had brought Khadra, which meant that his overprotective baby-sister was currently more invested in her girlfriend’s lips than watching out for Derek’s heart getting broken, but Peter seemed to be on high alert as well, lurking in the shadows with Bob and watching Stiles introduce himself to the children with a guarded expression.

Apollo seemed particularly intrigued by the surrogacy aspect of Stiles’ pregnancy and Derek could tell that his second-youngest cousin was looking forward to the opportunity to talk pregnancy with someone who could commiserate and _wasn’t_ also his overprotective mother, so he vowed to make sure they’d get in a little talking time before the evening was over.

Malia, Romulus, Remus, and Thor had greeted Stiles friendly but each had also given him a critical once-over, all of them old enough to understand how he and Derek had met and clearly sharing their father’s skepticism about it.

Stiles hadn’t let him bother him, though he’d grasped Derek’s hand tightly when the Alpha had joined them with a raised eyebrow to make a point.

Luna, meanwhile, had greeted Stiles warmly and then immediately brought him chilled lemonade, eyes flashing red proudly when Stiles had gratefully acknowledged her prepubescent attempt at providing.

Ares was rolling around in the sand box with Bernard, completely indifferent to it all, but Vesta and the triplets had been shadowing Stiles ever since he’d told them hello, their eyes glued to his belly in fascination in Vesta’s case and growing confusion on behalf of the triplets.

“Derek! Derek!” the triplets whispered in unison when Derek’s nanas coaxed Stiles into taste-testing a new cookie, their little hands tugging at Derek’s shirt insistently.

“Yes?” Derek asked, kneeling down so he could be on eye-level with the five year old werewolf Alpha girls.

“Derek! Why is his belly so big?” Frigg whispered.

“Did he try to eat all the baby goats and then they were rescued and someone put stones in there instead?” Freya added, clueing Derek in on where exactly his aunt and uncle had stopped with the kids’ Grimm education last.

“Should we make him some tea? Tea helps when your tummy hurts and I bet stones in your tummy hurt!” Fulla said in concern and Derek remembered that Vesta and Ares’ latest bouts with the stomach flu hadn’t been all that long ago.

“Don’t worry,” he said, smiling encouragingly.

“His tummy isn’t hurting and he didn’t swallow any baby goats either. He’s just got a little baby in there right now, just like your mommy and big brother do.”

The triplets’ eyes widened almost comically.

“Are you going to be a _daddy_ , Derek?”

Derek winced when Freya’s excited exclamation carried across the lawn, choosing to look neither at Stiles nor at the gooey faces his nanas were likely making.

“No girls, I’m not going to be a daddy. Stiles isn’t going to be a daddy either. He’s … uh … he’s just carrying the baby of his best friends for now. The baby’s mommy really wanted to do it by herself, but sadly she couldn’t. Stiles loves her very much, so he told her he’d help her. He’s a really good friend.”

“Huh! That’s why he looks so pretty! People with babies in their bellies are always pretty. Daddy said so,” Frigg declared, narrowing her eyes as she looked over at Stiles again.

“Isn’t the mommy sad that she can’t carry her baby in her belly? Doesn’t she miss it?”

Derek blinked, not quite sure how to explain the emotional pit-falls of surrogacy to a five-year old.

“She’s a little bit sad, yes, but she’s also really happy that the baby is doing really well. You don’t have to carry your baby in your belly to love it very much, and that’s all that’s important in the end.”

The triplets nodded seriously, pigtails bobbing in synch.

“That’s true! My best friend Miguel came from a different belly but his parents love him very, very much. They bought him on the Internet!” Fulla contributed, cocking her head in confusion when Derek flinched.

Before he could correct her, Frigg opened her mouth, always ready to upstage her youngest triplet.

“That’s not true, dummy! They went on the Internet to look for a shop where you could buy a baby and then they went to Walmart and told the cashier that they really, really, really wanted to be a mommy and daddy and then the cashier gave them a baby!”

“I don’t think that’s right either! I think they had to compete in a race against other mommies and daddies and the first prize was taking home a baby!” Freya said, looking at Derek for confirmation.

Derek held his hand in front of his mouth, aware that his young cousins didn’t take too kindly to being laughed at.

“Miguel’s parents didn’t buy him, girls, he was adopted. That’s a big difference. Besides, you can’t buy a baby. Do you know why?”

The girls shrugged and Derek smiled, watching Stiles approaching them from the corner of his eye.

“You can’t buy a baby because babies are priceless. If you buy something, you can return it when you no longer want it, but once it’s born you can never return a baby. So it would make no sense if you could buy babies. Am I right?”

The girls nodded seriously, looking at Stiles’ belly with renewed interest when he grabbed Derek’s shoulder and lowered himself onto the grass next to him.

“Your belly’s really big,” Freya declared, sniffing curiously.

“Do you have three babies in there? Mommy has a baby in her belly, too, but her belly is a lot smaller, so that must mean that there are three babies in there! My sisters and I were all in my mommy’s belly at the same time and she says we almost made her explode! But our daddy says that she never looked more beautiful and then our mommy just giggled a lot and then they had to go take a nap! Mommy and Daddy take a lot of naps! That’s why my sissies and I have decided we are never going to grow up ever! Like Peter Pan! Because if you’re old you have to take naps every day and naps are really boring!”

“Every day, huh? That explains that,” Stiles said drily, though his mouth was twitching when he waved his hand around the garden full of Peter and Zandrine’s brood.

“And for the record, little lady, it is not polite to comment on how big someone’s belly is. Maybe they have a baby in there, but maybe it’s just a bunch of pizza and how would _you_ like it if someone laughed at you because your belly was full of pizza?”

Freya frowned.

“I’d just laugh at _them_ , because that just means that I got to have some awesome pizza and they didn’t!”

“Point,” Stiles conceded, allowing Derek to help him up when the triplets scampered away.

“Accidental innocent fat shaming aside, your cousin does have a point. I thought I popped two weeks ago, but for the past two days my belly has been feeling a bit tight again, as if Gremlin is getting ready for a big spectacle. It’s been mostly steady growing so far, but I’m a bit concerned about the kid’s show-off tendencies. I still have 18 weeks to go, she’d better space this out for as long as she can.”

Derek had very definitely noticed that Stiles’ belly had rounded out significantly in the eight days he hadn’t seen him and had felt the difference when the Omega had been grinding against him just hours earlier.

Therefore, he kissed the shell of Stiles’ ear and elected not to tell him that his belly size was actually very average for a first-time pregnant Omega with a slim waist carrying to the front and that he would probably end up about twice as big before the kid would be born.

Stiles smiled, looking a little resigned, and Derek knew he was probably aware of it without a professional’s input.

“My cousins are right though. You look really pretty,” Derek said, hugging Stiles from behind with one arm so he could rub his belly with his free hand, enjoying how the Omega went pliant in his arms and leaned back, sighing contentedly.

“Pretty is one word for it. I’m already sweating, I think I’m going to break out because Gremlin’s still mucking up my hormones to her hearts content, and I’m this close to chopping off my hair again. It’s getting so thick that my head is sweating even worse than my pits and I never even knew that was possible!”

Derek was a woke Alpha who understood that he had no control over any part of Stiles’ body and that the Omega could do whatever the fuck he wanted with his hair.

Derek was also a romantic caught in one of Nana Abby’s trashy romance novels and couldn’t quite suppress a little disappointed sound at the idea of no longer being able to bury his fingers in Stiles’ hair, feeling his cheeks heat when Stiles turned around to raise his eyebrows at him.

“What was that, Alpha?” he asked, a teasing note in his voice that caused the blush in Derek’s cheeks to spread.

“You were really pretty with your buzz cut, too,” Derek said diplomatically.

“Good answer,” Stiles nodded, lips widening as he smirked in satisfaction.

Derek had strong opinions about that smirk and he decided to express them nonverbally, pulling Stiles in and kissing him, completely forgetting about his surroundings.

Until his family decided to ruin the mood, that was.

“Not in front of my salad!” Peter yelled across the yard, jerking his thumb at the gaggle of curious children watching them.

“He’s such a hypocrite!” Derek snorted, pulling away from Stiles with regret and leading him towards the large table, where most of his family had already gathered.

“One time, when I was still in high school, my aunt and uncle had a sex marathon that lasted for ten hours and forced my parents into giving Cora the talk because she couldn’t make sense of the strange noises the next day. On the plus side, it resulted in my cousin Vesta, so we ended up forgiving them for ruining _Scarface_ for all of us. There’s just no way you can listen to Tony Montana say “You wanna fuck with me. Okay. You wanna play rough. Okay. Say hello to my little friend” after hearing it in _that_ context!”

“I’ve heard it’s anything but little,” Stiles snorted, breaking into full laughter when Derek’s face did a thing between shock and horror.

“What can I say, your aunt and uncle are famous across city lines because they like to get it on all over the great state of California. Or in Beacon Heights, at least, where my dad had to give them a warning for having sex in a parked car about twelve years ago. I’d forgotten about it until just earlier, but now I do remember Dad coming home from patrol that night and telling Mom that he’d never quite understood why some Alphas felt the urge to knot their Omegas after they already got them pregnant. He was quite annoyed, too, because he had to stand guard until the knot went down enough for them to drive away, apparently, to prevent the youngsters of Beacon Heights from being scarred for life.”

“Twelve years ago? That would have been Luna, then. I’m not surprised, Peter had a project in Beacon Heights at the time and Aunt Zandrine drove over to see him every other day because she missed him so much. She likes to say that being pregnant with an Omega makes you puke a lot and want snuggles and romance and being pregnant with an Alpha means you’re either so exhausted that you’re sleeping or its horn-dog central 24/7, all days of the week. I don’t remember Apollo, because I was a bit too young to notice it, then, but I’m pretty sure it’s nonsense because she was covered in hickeys for ten months while she carried Vesta, too. Of course Peter also doesn’t mind getting puked on by accident as long as he can provide for his Omega in any way that she needs him to. He actually gave himself a medal after it happened the fifth time.”

Stiles shuddered, though he looked at Zandrine with astonishment.

“Really? God, I was so nauseous during my first trimester I would have literally chopped your knot off if you’d gotten it anywhere near me. Of course you weren’t around at the time, so it might have been different, but I can tell you that every time I saw an Alpha during those weeks all I could think of was their heinous knots of evil and how they are directly responsible for poor Omegas puking their guts out all over the world. Not the stuff that great romances are made of.”

“Remind me to show you Nana Abby’s trashy romance novel collection sometime. You’d be surprised,” Derek laughed, pulling out a chair for Stiles to sit down and very determinedly ignoring the gagging noises coming from some of his cousins.

“My children are Neanderthals, ignore them,” Zandrine remarked from Derek’s left, throwing a glare across the table at her older kids.

When everyone was seated Nana Greta cleared her throat.

“Let’s say grace,” the Hale matriarch said, making a disgruntled sound when the older occupants of the table looked at each other in confusion.

“Huh? When did we start doing that, Nana?” Cora asked, eyebrows rising when Greta shushed her.

“Quiet you guys, the food’s going to get cold. Dear lord, thank you for this amazing food that my darling Abby prepared for all of us. We also thank you for new members of the family and we pray there’ll be many more to follow! Perhaps with our little bear’s gorgeous hazel eyes and a little cute upturned nose! Yes, many of those! Thank you baby Jesus, amen!”

“Amen, _mother_. Now everyone, eat!” Talia said sharply, tone leaving no room for debate.

Derek exhaled the breath he’d been holding in horror, reaching across the table to grab the vegetables and heap a generous serving onto Stiles’ plate.

It didn’t occur to him until after he’d filled – _provided_ his wolf yipped gleefully – the Omega’s plate with everything remotely nutritious and healthy at the table that he should have probably asked.

Stiles didn’t seem to mind, though, clearly recognizing Derek’s covert mission for what it was.

It made sense, given how used he had gotten to being provided on left and right by the overprotective Alpha cops at the station.

For a heart-stopping second, Derek contemplated the possibility that one of them might be a better provider than he was, if only on account of knowing Stiles longer and being able to foresee his cravings.

Then he shushed his brain firmly, because jealousy was for cavemen, Stiles deserved all the providing in the world, and he trusted him not to sit on the other Alphas’ laps as a thank you.

Derek’s lap meanwhile … yes, Stiles could sit on Derek’s lap all he wanted.

“Ahem,” Peter whispered barely audibly, holding up Bob like an accusation, and even though he still found it highly hypocritical, Derek decided to stop thinking about Stiles on his lap immediately.

Or at least until he was no longer in smelling distance of his family.

He could be considerate.

“So, Stiles, what is it you do, exactly?” Talia asked, directing Derek’s attention back to the dinner conversation.

“I’ve been a Sheriff’s deputy for a couple of years now, over at the station in Beacon Heights,” he explained, cocking his head questioningly when Derek’s father let out an intrigued sound.

“You’re John’s kid, aren’t you?” Sebastian asked and when Stiles nodded he smiled, some of the earlier caution easing out of his expression.

“Your dad paid a visit to my boss just after you graduated from the academy. He was really proud of you, talked about your accomplishments the entire time he was there.”

Stiles winced, smiling sheepishly.

“Oh yeah, that. I’m sorry if he talked your ear off, he had ulterior motives, I’m afraid. I was one of only five Omegas who become deputies in the state of California the year I graduated and Dad really wanted me to go work for a department that wasn’t Beacon Heights. Didn’t quite work out that way.”

“Why? Was he afraid you’d wreck the station?” Laura asked teasingly, turning towards her mate when Jordan cleared his throat.

“Come on Laura, you know why,” Jordan said, raising his eyebrows at her.

Laura flinched, her eyes wide when she looked at Stiles again.

“Oh shit! Sorry, I didn’t think!”

“Language, you’re a mother now!” Talia snapped, glaring at her oldest child. When Derek’s mother turned towards Stiles again, her expression was decidedly more sympathetic.

Stiles nodded, winking at Jordan and obviously trying to make light of the situation.

“Yup. Turns out Jordan over there had already filled the Omega deputy quota for the Beacon Hills Sheriff’s department and his boss wasn’t keen on adding a second Omega to the mix. As far as stereotypes go, he would have even been right, I guess … after all, we were both pregnant at the same time between March and June this year. I don’t mind how things turned out in the end though. My dad’s one of the best and if I can spend some more time learning from him then that’s not my loss, it’s my gain. Don’t ever tell him I said that, though, he claims the only joy I find in working with him is denying him donuts.”

Laura chuckled, breaking the tension, and Derek tried to appear casual as he sought out Stiles’ hand under the table, squeezing tightly.

Stiles squeezed back just as tightly, smiling and laughing along with Derek’s family as the conversation moved on to less depressing things.

The food was delicious as always, but Derek barely even tasted it, too enraptured with seeing Stiles eat, laugh, and banter with various members of his family and thinking that this was a sight he could definitely get used to.

An hour later, most of the table had been cleared save for a decadent three-tier chocolate cake that Nana Abby had carried into the garden with the pompousness of an Olympic torch carrier and that had caused Stiles’ eyes to widen to plate-sized proportions.

Since most of the children were once more playing in the back of the garden and Peter had excused himself to put the baby and the triplets to bed, Derek decided to get Stiles into a more comfortable position and encouraged him to go sit on the rattan garden sofa set on the terrace behind the house.

It had cooled down just enough for snuggling to be a pleasant rather than sweaty affair, which was why Derek had more or less tucked Stiles against him, one arm slung across his shoulder and his other hand resting on his hip, possibly a little possessively but still more appropriate than 90 percent of his aunt and uncle’s PDA any day of the week.

Stiles was in the process of demolishing his second piece of chocolate cake, a little ganache stuck to the corner of his mouth as he licked the fork in a way that Derek considered yet another attack on his Alphahood.

Not that he was dramatic or anything.

“You know, I’m pretty sure I can rest my plate on here in another month or so. I’m actually looking forward to that part, that seems like it would be prime position for Netflix,” Stiles mused, looking down at his belly in amusement.

“She likes chocolate cake, by the way, she’s been kicking ever since I put that first forkful in my mouth. I’ve been thinking it for a while, but now I’m one-hundred percent sure – she really does take after her daddy.”

“I’m jealous. I tried the cake earlier but it almost made me gag,” Apollo said, lowering himself onto the free space of the couch next to Stiles.

“Go make your Alpha get you ginger chews. Where is he, anyways?” Derek asked, noticing for the first time that David was nowhere to be seen.

Apollo shrugged.

“He’s having dinner with his parents tonight. I was supposed to come, but I wasn’t going to miss out on meeting your boyfriend before I go back to school. Also, they still don’t like me too much and we still haven’t told them I’m pregnant, so I actually don’t mind having to miss it.”

“Really?” Derek asked, concerned, but Apollo waved his hands dismissively.

“Don’t you start, too, I’m getting enough mother-henning on that issue from Mom and Dad already. Besides, I don’t like them too much either, so that just works out well. If I had my way, they’d never even get their backwards hands on my baby, but David is still holding out hope that they’ll evolve in this decade.”

“Traditionalists?” Stiles asked and Apollo snorted, though there wasn’t much humor in it.

“That’s the nice way to put it, I guess. You could say I’m not necessarily dream son-in-law material in their eyes. After all, I’m a werewolf but technically a half-breed _and_ my parents procreate like were-rabbits. Not exactly country club material. Never mind that Dad, Uncle Sebsatian, and Auntie Talia make enough money to feed the pack and Nana Greta contributes because she made some pretty smart investments while she was still working, as far as David’s parents are concerned we’re just mooching off the welfare system and Dad’s buying Viagra with food stamp money. They weren’t happy when we started dating, they were even less happy when David climbed out of his window in Junior Year to help me through heat, they were downright pissed when he joined me at college even though he could have gotten into a better school, and us moving in together out of mate-lock was just the icing on the cake. Well … until now, of course, because Little Bean definitely upstages living in sin in a crappy studio apartment with a leaky faucet and neighbors who like to sing opera at 3 in the morning.”

“That’s rough,” Stiles said sympathetically, taking a sip of his ice tea.

“My parents are actually pretty open about these things normally. I mean, they had to be, considering that I came out as bisexual to my mom in kindergarten without realizing it when she read me a bedtime story about a nice Alpha princess marrying a beautiful Omega prince and I started crying because the Omega princes always had to marry Alpha princes and princesses and maybe they wanted to marry Omega princesses, too, and why couldn’t they just do both. They told me that story when I came out officially in tenth grade and was a bit confused when their exact reaction was ‘Duh! Can you pass me the salt, please’. They were also cool about Danny and I cohabitating for a while. My dad even sued my former landlord when he found out about our living situation and expressed his distinct displeasure of two Omega slicking it up together – his words, not mine.”

Apollo heaved a heavy sigh, shaking his head.

“People, I swear. I forget how they are sometimes. Being raised in this family is awesome, but sometimes I think it does not adequately prepare you for reality. So you and my cousin Derek, huh? Are your parents happy about you dating your midwife, too?”

Derek startled, glaring at his cousin, but Apollo just rested his palm on his still-flat belly, as if to indicate that pregnancy was a perfectly reasonable excuse for impolite bluntness.

Stiles chuckled, though it sounded a lot more forced than before.

“Uhm. They don’t know him yet, so they’re rather neutral about it for now. They’re going to love him though, no doubt about it,” Stiles said diplomatically and Derek was grateful when his cousin took the hint and ignored the slight uptick in Stiles’ heartbeat.

“Well, _we_ love _you_ , that’s for sure and we’re so glad you’re making our little bear smile so much!”

Derek had been waiting for his aunt to corner Stiles all night, not surprised that she had finally taken the opportunity to talk to him a bit more.

What he hadn’t been expecting, however, was that she seemed to be in need of a laptop for the interrogation.

Apollo, meanwhile, seemed to know exactly what it was for, paling alarmingly.

“Run! Run for your life and sanity!” he whispered, loudly adding, “I think Dad needs help with the triple Fs. I have to go. Right now!”

“Darling, won’t you just wait a little?” Zandrine protested, but her oldest son was already halfway across the distance between the sofas and the living room door, turning back one last time to throw an apologetic look at Stiles.

Zandrine shrugged, unconcerned. She placed the laptop on the glass table in front of the sofas and pulled a rattan armchair closer, lowering herself into the comfortable cushions with a happy sigh.

“Ah, that feels good. Those lawn chairs we use for the big table really did a number on my back earlier. How is your back holding up, dear?”

“It hurts every now and then, but Derek got me some pretty great belly support bands and they’ve helped a lot,” Stiles reported, eyeing the laptop with confusion.

Zandrine nodded, looking pleased.

“He’s a good one, our Derek. He delivered his oldest cousin when he was only five years old and ever since then he’s had an uncanny instinct for what pregnant people need. You’re really lucky to have him; he’ll bring you the moon and stars if you ask for them. The Alphas in this family have always been that way, I haven’t wanted for anything ever since I got mated to my beloved Peter. There’s one aspect of pregnancy our Derek isn’t yet familiar with, however, which is why I’ve made a little power-point presentation that I think could be of great help to you both.”

Derek held his breath, suddenly having a very distinct idea of where this was going, but holding out hope that for once his aunt was going to behave like a normal human being and engage in small-talk _before_ getting to the knot-talk.

Hope, much like resistance, turned out to be futile when Zandrine opened the laptop and Derek was faced with a very detailed illustration of a knot inside an Omega’s channel.

Helpful arrows included.

“Auntie Zan, no, I beg you!” Derek groaned, hiding his face behind his hands.

Zandrine shook her head, clicking a button to display an even more graphic image, this time showing a heavily pregnant Omega lying on the edge of a canopy bed with a pillow wedged under her butt, knees bent and resting on her Alpha’s hips, while the Alpha was kneeling on the floor in front of the bed, hands grasping the supple flesh of her thighs.

“This is one of my favorite pregnancy sex positions! You can do this at any point during the forty weeks, but you’ll have to add more pillows as your belly grows larger. Peter and I have always found that …”

“Auntie Zan, _why_?” Derek interrupted, throwing a helpless glance around the garden to see whether his mom or dad would come and rescue him.

Stiles, meanwhile, looked both startled and also intrigued, leaning a bit forward and squinting his eyes when Zandrine switched the image to a picture of an Alpha taking his pregnant Omega from behind doggy-style.

“Now, doggy-style is always a bit tricky with werewolves, because chances are it will ignite their canine passion and they’ll really start going at it, which is glorious when you’re not pregnant but can get a little uncomfortable when the little one inside is woken by all the thrusting. My Peter has excellent self-control, normally, but when I was pregnant with the twins he was just so insatiable that one time we actually broke the bed. Woke up the entire house, that was a bit of an unfortunate situation.”

Another click, and Derek was now looking at an illustration of a pregnant Omega lying on his side, surrounded by pillows, while his Alpha was taking him from behind, her mouth open in pleasure.

“That one became our go-to position during my first pregnancy, when we weren’t quite comfortable enough with pregnancy sex, yet. We got a mirror during my second trimester, because I missed seeing his face as he came and that was one way to …”

“And that’s enough of that,” Derek’s father interrupted, having finally taken pity on him. He closed the laptop and stared down his sister-in-law, eyebrows on point and judgment radiating from every inch of his body.

“Prudes! I will never understand how the family that spawned Peter can be made up of prudes entirely!” Zandrine huffed and Derek’s father shrugged, holding the laptop out of her reach when she made a grab for it.

“Not prudes, technically, just a group of philanthropists who think that poor Stiles here doesn’t deserve being subjected to a power point presentation because he’s too polite to say no, while your originally intended victim threatened to flee the country the third time you brought it up.”

“My son is ungrateful, I only want what’s best for him!” Zandrine sniffed, actually looking like she was considering breaking into tears. Derek’s father quickly put down the laptop and slung an arm around her shoulder, patting her back comfortingly.

_Hormones_ he mouthed over her head and Derek decided to use the opportunity, gently tugging at Stiles’ hand to get him to stand up and flee the vicinity.

“I’m sorry,” Derek sighed once they were out of human earshot, but Stiles just laughed, patting his chest comfortingly.

“Are you kidding me? I love your family! I was expecting them to read me the riot act over threatening your reputation as a professional Alpha midwife who’d never hook up with their clients, and instead I got a three-tier chocolate cake that I’m pretty sure took like ten hours to make! I’m not complaining, believe me.”

Derek smiled widely, finally giving in to the temptation and kissing the side of Stiles’ mouth that still had some chocolate ganache smeared on it, tongue darting out for just a little lick.

“You make me happy. They like seeing me happy,” he said quietly.

Stiles grinned and wrapped his arms around him, holding on tightly as he whispered, “Can’t say you make me unhappy, either.”

Derek kissed the side of his temple, noticing that his mother, father, and uncle Peter were watching them out of the corner of his eye.

They still had concerns about the situation, Derek was pretty sure, but he was grateful that, for now, his family seemed to have come to the conclusion to let them explore this new thing between them without too much input, though Derek had no doubt that they would step in at any point in time, should they feel it was necessary.

“Speaking of families,” Stiles said tentatively, leaning back and looking at Derek apologetically.

“When I said earlier that my parents want to meet you, stat, I really do mean, stat. Ideally at some point during this coming week. And when I said neutral I meant that my dad promised not to polish his gun at any time while you’re there, but they might have some questions about your intentions. And what I mean by ‘some’ is obviously a whole lot. Just so you know.”

Derek gulped, nodding.

“Alright. I can do that.”

Stiles grinned, his hands circling Derek’s waist and his fingers inching towards his buttocks when he leaned in to whisper.

“No knot-shriveling though, you hear me? It would be a travesty if anything happens to it before I get to sit on it.”

“So you’ve mentioned,” Derek agreed, raising his eyebrows when Stiles’ fingers dipped just a little lower to squeeze.

“Just to be on the safe side though, maybe you should come stay at my place before we have dinner with my parents. You haven’t seen my place, yet, and I promise it’s doggy-friendly, so you could even bring Bernard. I’ll cook you dinner and then I’ll sit on your knot. How does that sound? _Alpha_?”

Derek gulped again, this time for an entirely different reason.

“It’s a date.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up, Derek's knot gets pampered during his date and then shrivels when he meets Mom and Dad Stilinski. Then there's more smut. Also, Kate causes some commotion and Matt goes into labor, forcing Derek to make a very difficult choice.


End file.
